readwrite

Read/write refers to the two fundamental operations used to handle data in computing: reading data from a source such as memory, storage, or a device, and writing data to a destination. Read operations retrieve data for use by a processor or application, while write operations store or update data. These operations underlie nearly all software, from operating systems managing memory to applications performing file input/output. In programming, reads and writes can be blocking or non-blocking, synchronous or asynchronous, and may involve buffering or caching. The sequencing and atomicity of read-modify-write patterns are important in concurrent environments to avoid race conditions.

System architectures distinguish between different types of storage and memory, such as random-access memory (RAM) and persistent storage, and between byte-addressable memory and block devices. These distinctions influence how reads and writes are optimized, for example through caching, prefetching, and write-back strategies. Memory ordering and visibility rules govern how changes propagate across cores and processors, with implications for correctness in multi-threaded programs. Performance considerations often involve balancing I/O bandwidth, latency, and consistency requirements, as well as choosing appropriate I/O APIs, buffering strategies, and synchronization primitives.

ReadWrite is also the name of an online publication that provided news, analysis, and tutorials on software development, web technologies, and digital culture. The site covered topics of interest to developers and technology professionals and contributed to discussions about the tech industry and its trends. See also data access, file I/O, memory hierarchy, and atomic operations.