persistence

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persistence The property of data that continues to exist after a process accessing it has finished. The term is usually used for data that is preserved when the computer is switched off, and when the notation for accessing it is substantially the same as for other data. Persistence shows that the existence of a data item is distinct from its accessibility, which is determined by the scope of its declaration. By implication, persistent data is preserved in backing store, and special techniques are often needed to store and access the data values and to mark their creation and destruction.

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