Random access is the ability to access a random element of a group in equal time. The opposite is
sequential access, where a remote element takes longer time to access. A typical illustration of this distinction is the ancient
scroll (sequential) and the
book where any random
page can be flipped open immediately. A more modern example is computer storage on magnetic tape on spools (sequential) and hard disks (random access). The term
random access memory (RAM), however, is used for ferrite
core or semiconductor chip memory circuits used in computers.
See also: array, linked list