write-only memory
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English[edit]
Noun[edit]
write-only memory (usually uncountable, plural write-only memories)
- (computing) A type of computer memory to which data can be written, but from which it cannot be read.
- (informal) A failed or otherwise inoperative memory device.
Usage notes[edit]
The term originated as a joke, as there was thought to be no possible use for memory that cannot be read, and is still often used in this way (often as a euphemistic way of referring to a failed or otherwise nonfunctional memory device). However, it was soon realized that instances of write-only memory do actually occur in many real-life systems (although, in most real-life examples, the memory is only write-only from the perspective of a particular device, and can still be read by other devices, or by the user).