Reading is an action performed by computers, to acquire data from a source and place it into their volatile memory for processing. For example, a computer may read information off a floppy disk and store it in random access memory to be placed on the hard drive to be processed at a future date. Computers may read information from a variety of sources, such as magnetic storage, the Internet, or audio and video input ports.
The act of reading one unit of information (e.g. a byte) is sometimes called a read cycle. The electrical circuit that transforms the physical magnetic flux changes into abstract bits is called the read channel. A read error occurs when the physical part of the process fails for some reason, such as dust or dirt entering the drive.
Reading can be abstracted to one of the main functions of a Turing machine.
Famous quotes containing the word reading:
“The logical English train a scholar as they train an engineer. Oxford is Greek factory, as Wilton mills weave carpet, and Sheffield grinds steel. They know the use of a tutor, as they know the use of a horse; and they draw the greatest amount of benefit from both. The reading men are kept by hard walking, hard riding, and measured eating and drinking, at the top of their condition, and two days before the examination, do not work but lounge, ride, or run, to be fresh on the college doomsday.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)