Data Storage

Collecting and processing data is not the end of the story. Once we gather data and process it to get results, we do not simply throw the data away — we want to keep it for future use as well. Data storage is the process of storing data on storage devices so that it can be retrieved later. Storage is what turns a one-time computation into a lasting, reusable record.

Why storage has become a challenge — and what eases it

These days, very large volumes of data are being generated at a very high rate. Storing all of it has therefore become a genuinely challenging task. Two opposing forces are at play:

• the volume and speed of data generation keep rising, making storage harder, while
• the cost of digital storage devices keeps falling, which simplifies the task considerably.

Storage devices

The market offers numerous digital storage devices, including:

• Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
• Solid State Drive (SSD)
• CD/DVD
• Tape Drive
• Pen Drive
• Memory Card

Files — and their limits

On our computers, we store data such as images, documents and audio/video as files. In the same way, the data of a school or a hospital is stored in data files. Using computers, we add, modify or delete data in these files, or process the files to obtain results.

File processing, however, has certain limitations. Those limitations can be overcome through a Database Management System (DBMS) — the more organised approach to storing and managing data that later chapters take up. …