Glossary for Geospatial Science

WORM drive:� (historical term)� Write Once, Read Many drive.� A type of drive that reads and writes to non-erasable optical disks, which are used for permanent, file storage.� WORM disks are empty when purchased, and the user can write files to them until they are full.� Data is recorded with reflective pits in the coating laid on the surface of a glass or metal disk.� Once the pits have been burned into the coating, they cannot be removed, which makes this medium non-erasable.� (See also: erasable optical cartridge, erasable optical drive, optical disk)