Reading (computer)

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Reading is an action performed by computers, to acquire data from a source and place it into their volatile memory for processing. Computers may read information from a variety of sources, such as magnetic storage, the Internet, or audio and video input ports. Reading is one of the core functions of a Turing machine.

A read cycle is the act of reading one unit of information (e.g. a byte). A read channel is an electrical circuit that transforms the physical magnetic flux changes into abstract bits. A read error occurs when the physical part of the process fails for some reason, such as dust or dirt entering the drive.