Click here

optical disk

A storage medium from which data is read and to which it is written by lasers. Optical disks can store much more data -- up to 6 gigabytes (6 billion bytes) -- than most portable magnetic media, such as floppies. There are three basic types of optical disks:

  • CD-ROM : Like audio CDs, CD-ROMs come with data already encoded onto them. The data is permanent and can be read any number of times, but CD-ROMs cannot be modified.
  • WORM : Stands for write-once, read -many. With a WORM disk drive, you can write data onto a WORM disk, but only once. After that, the WORM disk behaves just like a CD-ROM.
  • erasable: Optical disks that can be erased and loaded with new data, just like magnetic disks. These are often referred to as EO (erasable optical) disks.
  • These three technologies are not compatible with one another; each requires a different type of disk drive and disk. Even within one category, there are many competing formats, although CD-ROMs are relatively standardized.



    Top Terms
    • 1

      enterprise application

      An enterprise application is the term used to describe applications -- or software -- that a business would use to assist the organization in...

      Read more »

    • 2

      open source

      Generically, open source refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its...

      Read more »

    • Click Here!

    Connect with Webopedia

    Did You Know? Archive »

    • Quick Reference Archive »