CD-ROM (an abbreviation of "Compact Disc read-only memory")
is a Compact Disc that contains data accessible by a computer. While the Compact
Disc format was originally designed for music storage and playback, the format was
later adapted to hold any form of binary data. CD-ROMs are popularly used to distribute
computer software, including games and multimedia applications, though
any data can be stored (up to the capacity limit of a disc). Some CDs hold both
computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player,
whilst data (such as software or digital video) is only usable on a computer (such
as PC CD-ROMs). These are called Enhanced CDs.
Although many people use lowercase letters in this acronym, proper presentation
is in all capital letters with a hyphen between CD and ROM. It was also suggested
by some, especially soon after the technology was first released, that CD-ROM was
an acronym for "Compact Disc read-only-media", or that it was a more 'correct'
definition. This was not the intention of the original team who developed the CD-ROM,
and common acceptance of the 'memory' definition is now almost universal. This is
probably in no small part due to the widespread use of other 'ROM' acronyms such
as Flash-ROMs and EEPROMs where 'memory' is the correct term.
CD-ROM discs are read using CD-ROM drives, which are now almost universal on personal
computers. A CD-ROM drive may be connected to the computer via an IDE (ATA), SCSI, S-ATA,
Firewire, or USB interface or a proprietary interface, such as the Panasonic CD interface.
Virtually all modern CD-ROM drives can also play audio CDs as well as Video CDs and other
data standards when used in conjunction with the right software.
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