|
|
A CD-ROM is a special kind of compact disk that stores computer data rather than digital audio data. CD-ROMs differ from floppy disks or tapes in that they are read-only media; you can read data stored on them, but you cannot write data onto a CD-ROM. Most CD-ROMs are used as large data repositories, as they typically store 300MB or more. For example, the entire SCO OpenServer system fits on a single CD-ROM with room to spare, but takes as many as 60 floppy disks.
CD-ROMs are preformatted, and the data is stored on them in the form of a special type of filesystem (defined by the High Sierra or ISO 9660 standards) that can be mounted onto the SCO OpenServer system. For details of mounting a filesystem, see ``Mounting a filesystem''.