RAM

• RAM - Memory
• Temporary, working storage bytes
• e.g. new SimpleImage("flowers.jpg")
  bytes of image loaded into RAM
• e.g. pixel.setRed(0) ... manipulating bytes in RAM
• RAM is not persistent .. gone when power goes out
• e.g. You're working on a doc, then power goes out (vs. "Save")

RAM - Random Access Memory, or just "memory". RAM is the working scratchpad memory the computer uses to store code and data that are being actively used. RAM is effectively a storage area of bytes under the control of the CPU. RAM is relatively fast, able to retrieve the value of any particular byte in a few nanoseconds (1 nanosecond = 1 billionth of a second). The other main feature of RAM is that it only keeps its state so long as it is supplied with power. It is not "persistent". Suppose you are working on your computer and it suddenly loses power and the screen goes blank. You understand that what you were working on is gone .. RAM has been wiped clean, leaving you only with what you last saved to disk (below).