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- Block
- Alternative name for a record.
- BOM
- Beginning of Medium: The first location on the medium which can be
accessed.
- BOP
- Beginning of Partition: The first location in
a partition which can be accessed.
Identical to BOM if only one partition is defined.
- BOT
- Beginning of Tape: Same as BOM.
- DDS
- Digital Data Storage: The data-storage equivalent of the Digital Audio
Tape (DAT). A recording medium consisting of a tape cartridge
containing a supply and take-up reel and a quantity of magnetic tape
of width 4mm. Data is recorded using a helical-scan technique.
- DLT
- Digital Linear Tape: A recording medium consisting of a tape cartridge
containing a supply reel and a quantity of magnetic tape.
- Early Warning
- A location on the medium before EOM, defined by
the tape drive. When a write operation encounters early-warning,
there should be enough space left before EOM
to accommodate all data still buffered by the drive (but not much
more!)
- EOD
- End of Data: The location after the last record
or tape mark on the medium resp. in
a partition.
- EOM
- End of Medium: The last location on the medium which can be accessed.
Used synonymously with EOP.
- EOP
- End of Partition: The last location in
a partition which can be accessed.
Identical to EOM if only one partition is defined.
- EOT
- End of Tape. The physical end-of-tape is synonymous with
EOM, while logical end-of-tape is another
name for the Early Warning position.
- Filemark
- A tape mark typically placed after the last
record of a file to indicate its end.
By convention, two successive filemarks are used to indicate
EOD for some kinds of media.
- Microdrive
- One of the ingenious inventions of Sir Clive Sinclair. A tape drive
mechanism using a miniature cartridge containing an endless loop of
tape. Used with the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and QL computers. Total
storage capacity of cartridge approx. 85KB.[1]
Recently, also the name of a miniature hard-disk drive by IBM. I hope
Amstrad will sue the pants off those cheeky bastards.
- Partition
- The usable region of the recording medium, or a portion thereof.
The SCSItape driver currently supports tapes with one or two
partitions, but doesn't allow changing the number of partitions.
- QIC
- Quarter Inch Cartridge: A type of recording medium consisting of
a tape cartridge containing a supply and take-up reel and a quantity
of magnetic tape of width 0.25in (whence the name). Data is recorded
in linear tracks, using a serpentine motion.
There are many QIC standards in existence, specifying different
recording formats, densities and track counts.
- Record
- The basic unit of user data stored on a tape. The length of a record
depends on the capabilities of the drive mechanism; many drives
support a large range of record sizes. Also called
block.
- Reel-to-Reel
- A tape drive mechanism which doesn't use cartridges. Usually used
to denote drives for 0.5in tapes. Not commonly found around PCs.
- Setmark
- A type of tape mark supported by some drives.
Setmarks are hierarchically superior to filemarks
and can be used for grouping. There are no universal conventions for
the use of setmarks.
- Tape Mark
- A special marker placed on the medium, containing no user data.
- Volume
- The recording medium plus its physical carrier (reel or cartridge).
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