Storage Locations and Address:

Primary Storage of Computer:

A primary or internal storage section is basic to all computers. It is made up of several small storage areas called locations or cells. Each of these locations can store a fixed number of bits called word length of that particular primary storage. Each word or location has a built-in and a unique number assigned to it. This number is called the address of the location and is used to identify the location. Each location can hold either a data item or an instruction, and its address remains the same regardless of its contents. The address normally start at 0 and the highest address equals the number of words that can be stored in the memory minus 1.

Example:

For example, if a memory has 1024 locations, then the address ranges between 0 and 1023. Thus, at address o we find a word, at address 1 a second word, at address 2 a third word, and so on up to the final word at the largest address.

There is an important difference between the address number and the contents of the address. A memory is like a large cabinet containing as many drawers as there are addresses in memory. Each drawer contains a word and the address of each word is written on the outside of the drawer. If we write or store a word say 10101010 at address 125, it is like a placing the word 10101010. We do not remove the word at an address when we read, but change the contents, at an address only when we store or write a new word. Thus, entering data into a storage location is destructive of previous contents, but retrieving data from a location is non-destructive.

Relevant Articles: Storage Ranking Storages Locations and Addresses Why More Bits Fixed and Variable Word Length Storage Bits, Bytes, and Words Internal Memory Devices External Memory Devices Organizing and Accessing Stored Data Types of Files Processing Stored Data