Computer - whats the difference between ram and rom?
- Posted:
- 3+ months ago by dexterpen...
- Topics:
- computer, ram, computers
Responses (1)
ROM:- read only memory
is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware (software that is very closely tied to specific hardware, and unlikely to need frequent updates).
In its strictest sense, ROM refers only to mask ROM (the oldest type of solid state ROM), which is fabricated with the desired data permanently stored in it, and thus can never be modified. Despite the simplicity, speed and economies of scale of mask ROM, field-programmability often make reprogrammable memories more flexible and inexpensive. As of 2007, actual ROM circuitry is therefore mainly used for applications such as microcode, and similar structures, on various kinds of digital processors (i.e. not only CPUs).
Other types of non-volatile memory such as erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM or Flash ROM) are sometimes referred to, in an abbreviated way, as "read-only memory" (ROM), but this is actually a misnomer because these types of memory can be erased and re-programmed multiple times. When used in this less precise way, "ROM" indicates a non-volatile memory which serves functions typically provided by mask ROM, such as storage of program code and nonvolatile data.
RAM:- random access memory
it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in bursts, although the name DRAM / RAM has stuck. However, many types of SRAM, ROM, OTP, and NOR flash are still random access even in a strict sense. RAM is often associated with volatile types of memory (such as DRAM memory modules), where its stored information is lost if the power is removed. Many other types of non-volatile memory are RAM as well, including most types of ROM and a type of flash memory called NOR-Flash.