An Assessment of CD ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory),

Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD ROM) is one of a group of optical disk that offers great information storage potential. CD ROM Technology uses a laser to burn (record) pits in the light sensitive surface of an optical or plastic coated disk. The typical 4.75 inch CD ROM disk offers enough storage capability to hold the contents of 1,200 standard 5.25 inch floppy disks. This report describes the current state-of-the-art and typical steps in preparing the CD ROM database, including data preparation (data indexing and reformatting), disk premastery, disk mastery, and mass replication. The strengths of CD ROM technology include high data storage density, relatively low costs for widely distributed databases, relatively high random access speeds, and disk durability and integration in the normal office environment. Limitations include the current high costs of premastering and mastering disks, and the lack of standardization among CD ROM producers. CD ROM is not an acceptable storage alternative for databases that are highly volatile, however an erasable optical disk is currently under development.