Glossary - R

4 A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P S T U V W X 

RAM or Random Access Memory:  The physical memory used to store data while 
a computer is operating.  The information in most types of RAM is lost 
when power is turned off. 

RAM Disk:  A pseudo "disk drive", created by software, which appears like 
a normal physical disk drive to programs.  Sometimes also called a Virtual 
Disk. 

Range:  See Date Range, Size Range, Time Range, and File Exclusion Range. 

Read-Only:  A file attribute indicating that the file can be read, but not 
written or deleted by the operating system or the command processor unless 
special commands are used. 

Reboot:  The process of restarting the computer with software, with the 
keyboard (e.g. by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del), by pressing a reset button, or 
by turning the power off and back on.  See also Cold Reboot and Warm 
Reboot. 

Redirection:  A method for collecting output from a program in a file, 
and/or of providing the input for a program from a file.  See also Pipe. 

REXX:  A file and text processing language developed by IBM, and available 
on many PC and other platforms. 

ROM or Read Only Memory:  A physical memory device used to store 
information which cannot be readily modified, such as the BIOS built into 
each PC system.  The information in ROM is typically retained when power 
is turned off. 

Root Directory:  The first directory on any disk, from which all other 
directories are "descended."  The root directory is referenced with a 
single backslash [\].