The Electronic Filing Cabinet

Abstract

Much of the power of a computer system comes from its ability to store and retrieve large quantities of data. The dusty books and ledgers of the old-fashioned office are now outmoded since all the information they contain can now be stored on magnetic tape or magnetic disks taking up a very small amount of space. Of course, the stored data has to be converted into special codes which are technically necessary for the transcription onto a magnetic medium. Luckily, the computer software will handle this encoding and all the programmer has to do is to decide what data is to be placed on what computer file. This is similar to the storage of music and speech on a gramophone record or recording tape, for in that case we do not need to be more than vaguely aware of the technology of the stereo disk, cassette tape or compact disk in order to use them. So long as we appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of storage media, then that is enough. The storage of computer data has many parallels with audio technology. Both disks and tape are used and each has specific and very good reasons for being used the way it is.