Glossary
continuous composite
A format that describes the physical, optical, and data format
characteristics of a disk that complies with ISO DP 10089-2A.
daisy chain
A method of connecting devices in a serial manner which typically starts
from the host. The last device in the chain must be terminated.
device file
The file associated with an I/O device. Device files are read and written
just like ordinary files, but requests to read or write result in activation
of the associated device.
disk
See optical disk.
front panel
The part of the optical drive that includes a power indicator light,
indicator lights which display disk functions, and a place to insert and
remove disks.
magneto-optical (MO)
A type of optical technology which uses a laser to read from and write to
a magnetic layer on an MO disk. To write, a spot on the magnetic layer
is heated by a laser to a point where it can be magnetically altered by
the write magnetic head. To read, the light from the laser is reflected
from the spot. The magnetic alteration causes the light to be polarized in
one direction (interpreted as a "1") or the opposite direction (interpreted
as a "0").
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