CD-ROM

CD-ROM (Compact Disc read-only memory) is a Compact Disc that contains information accessible by a computer. While the Compact Disc format was formerly designed for music storage and playback, the format was later adapted to hold any form of binary data. CD-ROM s are commonly used to distribute computer software, including games and multimedia applications, though any data can be stored. Some CD seize both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, whilst data is only usable on a computer. These are called Enhanced CD.

Although many people use lowercase letters in this acronym, proper appearance is in all capital letters with a hyphen between CD and ROM. It was also suggested by some, specially 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 purpose of the original team who developed the CD-ROM, and common acceptance of the memory definition is now almost universal.