The spelling of the word "real storage" can be explained by its IPA phonetic transcription, which is /riːlˈstɔːrɪdʒ/. The first syllable "reel" is pronounced with a long "ee" sound, while the second syllable "st" is pronounced as a blend of the sounds "s" and "t". The word ends with the sound "j" pronounced as "zh". "Real" refers to something that exists in reality, while "storage" means the act of keeping something in a secure place. Together, they refer to storing something in a physical and tangible location.
Real storage refers to the physical memory or primary storage in a computer system that is directly accessible by the central processing unit (CPU). It is also commonly referred to as main memory, primary memory, or RAM (Random Access Memory).
Real storage is essential for a computer to perform tasks and execute programs. It temporarily stores data and instructions that are actively being used by the CPU. When a program is executed, its instructions and data are loaded from the secondary storage (such as hard disk or solid-state drive) into real storage. The CPU then accesses this real storage to retrieve the necessary instructions, process them, and store the intermediate results.
The size of real storage significantly affects a computer's performance. Having a larger real storage capacity allows for more programs and data to be stored in the memory simultaneously, reducing the need for frequent data transfers between the slower secondary storage and the CPU. This improves overall system responsiveness and execution speed.
Real storage is volatile memory, meaning its contents are lost when the computer is powered off. However, it provides high-speed access to data and instructions, making it crucial for efficient and speedy computing. Advances in technology have led to the development of various types of real storage, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), that offer different trade-offs between cost, capacity, and speed.