Refers to anything pertaining to
hardware. The opposite of physical is
logical or
virtual, which describe
software objects. For example,
physical memory refers to the actual
RAM chips installed in a
computer.
Virtual memory, on the other hand, is an imaginary
storage area used by
programs.
A physical data structure refers to the actual organization of data on a storage device. The logical data structure refers to how the information appears to a program or user. For example, a data file is a collection of information stored together. This is its logical structure. Physically, however, a file could be stored on a disk in several scattered pieces.
