How do software memory and computer memory differ?

• A. Software memory resides in code; computer memory resides on disk or flash memory
• B. Software memory resides on disk; computer memory resides in code
• C. Software memory is in CPU cache; computer memory is in RAM
• D. Software memory is permanent; computer memory is volatile

Answer: (A)

Think of memory in layers: software lives on nonvolatile storage and only becomes active in memory when the system loads it, while computer memory refers to the fast, volatile RAM that the CPU uses during execution. Software and its data are stored on disk or flash; to run, the relevant parts are loaded into RAM where the processor can access them quickly. The code itself may be stored on disk or flash, and as it runs, portions of it (and the data it works with) reside in RAM, with the system keeping recently used information in CPU caches for speed. The key distinction is persistence and speed: disk/flash holds software permanently, while RAM holds the working set of instructions and data while the program is executing.