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Portability — OCR GCSE Computer Science Definition | GradeGen

Home
Computer Science
Key terms
Portability

GCSE Computer Science · key term

Portability

Definition

How easily a storage device or medium can be carried and used in different places.

Used by OCR

How each exam board covers it

OCR GCSE Computer Science · J277

Paper 1, Paper 2

Portability is how easily a device or medium can be carried. Size and weight matter, but so does how safely it can be moved. External HDDs can be transported, although they are generally bulkier and more vulnerable to knocks than solid-state alternatives.
Revise: Comparing Storage Devices
The ease with which a program can be transferred to and used on different computer systems.
Revise: Levels of Programming Languages

OCR Computer Science past papers

Exam tips

1
When choosing a language for a scenario, link its characteristic to the task: explain why readability, portability, hardware control or efficiency matters in that situation.

Related key terms

Capacity
Cost per gigabyte
Durability
Hard disk drive (HDD)
High-level language

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Low-level language

Maintainability

Read/write speed