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In data processing, a scratch tape is a magnetic tape that is used for temporary storage and can be reused or erased after the completion of a job or processing run.[1] During the early years of computing, when magnetic tape was the primary form of mass storage, many programs, notably sorting routines, required such temporary storage.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Magnetic_tape_hg.jpg/220px-Magnetic_tape_hg.jpg)
See also
edit- Scratch space – contemporary equivalent
- Merge sorting tape drives – paradigm application
References
edit- ^ "scratch tape". Encyclopedia. PC Magazine.