Storage

/ˈdeɪtəˌbeɪs/

noun — "organized repository for structured data."

Database is a structured collection of data organized for efficient storage, retrieval, and management. It allows multiple users or applications to access, manipulate, and analyze data consistently and reliably. Databases are foundational in computing, enabling everything from enterprise resource management and financial systems to search engines and web applications. They ensure data integrity, concurrency control, and durability, supporting operational and analytical workloads simultaneously.

/ˈrɛdʒɪstər/

noun … “Small, fast storage inside a CPU.”

Register is a tiny, high-speed storage location within a CPU or microprocessor used to hold data, instructions, or addresses temporarily during processing. Registers allow the CPU to access and manipulate information much faster than using main memory, making them essential for instruction execution, arithmetic operations, and control flow.

Key characteristics of Register include:

/baɪt/

noun … “the standard unit of digital storage.”

Byte is the fundamental unit of memory in computing, typically consisting of 8 bits. Each bit can represent a binary state, either 0 or 1, so a Byte can encode 256 unique values from 0 to 255. This makes it the basic building block for representing data such as numbers, characters, or small logical flags in memory or on disk.

/kuːtʃ diː biː/

n. — "JSON document store obsessed with offline replication sync."

CouchDB is Apache's Erlang-built NoSQL document database storing JSON-like documents with built-in bi-directional replication and multi-version concurrency control (MVCC) for offline-first apps. Unlike MongoDB's master-slave replication, CouchDB treats all nodes equal—changes propagate via HTTP with automatic conflict resolution via revision vectors, using MapReduce views for querying and B-tree indexes for fast lookups.

/ˈmɒŋɡoʊ diː biː/

n. — "NoSQL dumpster storing JSON blobs without schema nagging."

MongoDB is document-oriented NoSQL database using BSON (Binary JSON) format to store schema-less collections of records, grouping related documents without rigid table schemas or foreign key joins. Unlike SQL RDBMS, MongoDB embeds related data within single documents or references via ObjectIDs, supporting ad-hoc queries, horizontal sharding across replica sets, and MapReduce aggregation pipelines.

/ˈeɪ-tiː-eɪ/

n. “A standard interface for connecting storage devices such as hard drives and optical drives to a computer.”

ATA, short for Advanced Technology Attachment, is a standard interface used for connecting storage devices like HDDs and optical drives to a computer’s motherboard. ATA defines the electrical, physical, and logical specifications for data transfer between the storage device and the CPU.

Over time, ATA has evolved into different versions:

/ˈpæ-tə/ or /ˈpɑː-tə/

n. “An older parallel interface standard for connecting storage devices to a computer’s motherboard.”

PATA, short for Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment, is a legacy interface used to connect storage devices such as HDDs and optical drives to a motherboard. It uses parallel signaling with a wide ribbon cable (typically 40 or 80 wires) to transfer data between the device and the system.

/ˌɛs-θriː/

n. “A scalable object storage service provided by Amazon Web Services for storing and retrieving data in the cloud.”

S3, short for Simple Storage Service, is a cloud storage solution offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows users to store and access unlimited amounts of data, ranging from documents and images to large datasets and backups, with high durability, availability, and security.

/ˈsɑːtə/ or /ˈsætə/

n. “A computer bus interface that connects storage devices like hard drives and SSDs to a motherboard.”

SATA, short for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, is a high-speed interface standard used to connect storage devices such as HDDs, SSDs, and optical drives to a computer’s motherboard. SATA replaced the older parallel ATA (PATA) standard, providing faster data transfer, thinner cables, and improved efficiency.

/ˌɛn-viː-ˈɛm-iː/

n. “The high-speed protocol that lets SSDs talk directly to the CPU.”

NVMe, short for Non-Volatile Memory Express, is a storage protocol designed to maximize the performance of modern SSD drives by connecting directly to the CPU over PCIe lanes. Unlike older protocols like SATA, NVMe eliminates legacy bottlenecks and leverages the low latency and parallelism of NAND flash memory to achieve extremely fast read/write speeds.

Key characteristics of NVMe include: