COMPACT DISK READ ONLY

MEMORY
 Compact Disc Read Only
Memory.A compact disc
format that is used to hold
text,graphics, and hi-fi stereo
sound.The disc is almost the
same as the music CD,but
uses different tracks for
data.The music CD player
cannot play CD-ROM disc but
CD-ROM players may be able
to play music CD discs and
have jacks for connection to
an amplifier and/or
earphones.A CD-ROM player
is cabled to and controlled by
a card that is plugged into
one of the PCs expansion
slots.
• Sony of Japan and Philips of the
Netherlands developed the compact
disc (CD), a small hard plastic disc that
could be economically produced in
large quantities. CD-Audio was the first
application for this new technology.
CD-Audio was very successful, due in
large part to the producers adherence
to a set of specifications that later
became standards. The adherence to
these standards lead to the worldwide
growth of the CD-Audio industry. When
CD-ROM was designed, the industry
recognized the need for standards and
developed ISO 9660 as the base
standard for all CD-ROMs.
• Physically, the standard
compact disc is a disc made of
clear polycarbonate plastic,
coated with a reflective metal,
and a protective coat of clear
lacquer. Data is placed on the
CD-ROM in the form of small
pits recorded in a spiral track
starting at the center of the
CD- ROM and working to the
outer edge. If the data track of
a CD-ROM could be stretched
out it would be about 4.5Km
long.
 The standard CD-ROM can hold
up to 74 minutes (about 680
Megabytes) of data,
uncompressed. This is roughly
equivalent to 300,000
typewritten pages. Along with
the data, error detection and
correction codes are also
recorded on the disc. This
accounts for the incredibility
low error rate when reading
CD-ROMs.
 Since CD-ROMs are replicated in large
quantities, the process requires
producing a "master" disc. To produce
the glass master, the encoder's high
power laser beam burns the pits onto
a glass disc that has been coated with
photoresist. Once "burned", the glass
disc is then coated with an ultrathin
metal coating (usually a nickel alloy).
Finally, it is used to produce the metal
stampers that are fitted into the CD-
ROM replication machines to press the
final CD-ROMs. After stamping the CD-
ROMs, they are coated with the
reflective layer (usually aluminum),
the protective lacquer, and finally the
label is printed on it.
 Data is read from the CD-ROM with the help
of CD-ROM drive. While reading a CD-ROM, a
low power laser beam is focused on the
rotating CD-ROM and its reflection is viewed
by the read head. When the beam reflects
back from the CD- ROM, it's intensity
changes as it moves from "land" to "pits".
These variations in the laser beam are
decoded as data by the CD-ROM drive. It
should be noted, that unlike hard discs which
rotate at a constant angular velocity (CAV),
CD-ROMs rotate at a constant linear velocity
(CLV) of about one meter per second. This
requires that the drives servo mechanism
makes the CD-ROM turn slower as the read
head moves to the outer edge of the disc.
 Data Access
Unlike tape that must be accessed
sequentially, CD-ROM can be accessed
randomly. Random access reduces the time
required to retrieve data. It also allows
retrieval software to quickly retrieve related
data items across the entire database.
 Longevity and Integrity
Testing suggests that a properly produced CD-
ROM can last more than 100 years. CD- ROM
is a read-only medium, which insures the
integrity of the data for the life of the CD-
ROM.
 Compared to other
storage disks or
diskettes, a CD-ROM is
a very rugged, long-
lasting, secure medium
for storing large
amounts of read-only
information. CD-ROM is
the most cost effective
way to produce and
distribute large
quantities of data.