Data buffer

In <a href="/facts/Computer_science/lN3pEyPz">computer science</a>, a data buffer (or just buffer) is a region of memory used to store <a href="/facts/Data/AUBFN97o">data</a> temporarily while it is being moved from one place to another. Typically, the data is stored in a buffer as it is retrieved from an <a href="/facts/Input_device/TXYLUkux">input device</a> (such as a microphone) or just before it is sent to an output device (such as speakers); however, a buffer may be used when data is moved between <a href="/facts/Process_(computing)/Vcq7EnUV">processes</a> within a computer, comparable to buffers in telecommunication. Buffers can be implemented in a fixed memory location in hardware or by using a virtual data buffer in software that points at a location in the physical memory.
In all cases, the data stored in a data buffer is stored on a <a href="/facts/Computer_data_storage/wPHKFpdx">physical storage medium</a>. The majority of buffers are implemented in <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>, which typically use <a href="/facts/Random-access_memory/DuD4bxh6">RAM</a> to store temporary data because of its much faster access time when compared with <a href="/facts/Hard_disk_drive/kekLSGSE">hard disk drives</a>. Buffers are typically used when there is a difference between the rate at which data is received and the rate at which it can be processed, or in the case that these rates are variable, for example in a printer <a href="/facts/Spooler/fPbanPPu">spooler</a> or in <a href="/facts/Video_hosting_service/tNBgCRKy">online video</a> <a href="/facts/Streaming_media/4rPhSq0Y">streaming</a>. In a <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed computing</a> environment, data buffers are often implemented in the form of <a href="/facts/Burst_buffer/3WfTrLuw">burst buffers</a>, which provides distributed buffering services.
A buffer often adjusts timing by implementing a <a href="/facts/Queue_(data_structure)/hVPjPXus">queue</a> (or <a href="/facts/FIFO_(computing_and_electronics)/RctvBNgE">FIFO</a>) algorithm in memory, simultaneously writing data into the queue at one rate and reading it at another rate.

Data buffer open-in-new

Data buffer