writtenonce
WrittenOnce is a concept in information management describing data that is written in a single, final state and subsequently maintained in an immutable form. The term is often used in contrast with writable systems and with the broader category of write-once memory (WOM). Unlike hardware-only approaches, writtenOnce emphasizes policy, cryptography, and provenance to ensure immutability across software layers and storage ecosystems.
Implementation typically relies on append-only data structures, cryptographic hashes, time-stamped digital signatures, and immutable storage back-ends.
Common use cases include regulatory archival, legal documents, research data, financial logs, and compliance audits, where
Challenges include privacy concerns, potential over-retention, and operational overhead. In practice, systems may implement soft immutability
See also: WORM, blockchain, immutable ledger, data provenance, digital signatures.