Read-only memory is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device.

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Subsequent developments have addressed these shortcomings. Programmable read-only memory , invented by Wen Tsing Chow in 1956, allowed users to program its contents exactly once by physically altering its structure with the application of high-voltage pulses. This addressed problems 1 and 2 above, since a company can simply order a large batch of fresh PROM chips and program them with the desired contents at its designers’ convenience.

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Mask ROM is impractical for R&D work since designers frequently need to modify the contents of memory as they refine a design. IBM used capacitor read-only storage and transformer read-only storage to store microcode for the smaller System/360 models, the 360/85, and the initial two System/370 models (370/155 and 370/165). On some models there was also a writeable control store for additional diagnostics and emulation support. The Apollo Guidance Computer used core rope memory, programmed by threading wires through magnetic cores.

It permits erasure and programming of only a specific part of the device, instead of the entire device. This can be done at high speed, hence the name "flash". The 1971 invention of EPROM essentially solved problem 3, since EPROM can be repeatedly reset to its unprogrammed state by exposure to strong ultraviolet light.

It is common practice to use rewritable non-volatile memory – such as UV-EPROM or EEPROM – for the development phase of a project, and to switch to mask ROM when the code has been finalized. For example, Atmel microcontrollers come in both EEPROM and mask ROM formats. Mask ROM is a read-only memory whose contents are programmed by the integrated circuit manufacturer .

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The desired memory contents are furnished by the customer to the device manufacturer. The desired data is converted into a custom mask layer for the final metallization of interconnections on the memory chip . ROM and successor technologies such as flash are prevalent in embedded systems. With software usually tightly coupled to hardware, program changes are rarely needed in such devices . Today, many of these "read-only" memories – especially the BIOS – are often replaced with Flash memory , to permit in-place reprogramming should the need for a firmware upgrade arise.

Floating-gate ROM semiconductor memory in the form of erasable programmable read-only memory , electrically erasable programmable read-only memory and flash memory can be erased and re-programmed. But usually, this can only be done at relatively slow speeds, may require special equipment to achieve, and is typically only possible a certain number of times. Strictly, read-only memory refers to memory that is hard-wired, such as diode matrix or a mask ROM integrated circuit , which cannot be electronically changed after manufacture. Although discrete circuits can be altered in principle, through the addition of bodge wires and/or the removal or replacement of components, ICs cannot. Correction of errors, or updates to the software, require new devices to be manufactured and to replace the installed device.

However, simple and mature sub-systems may employ mask ROM or OTP (one-time programmable). Forms of read-only memory were employed as non-volatile storage for programs in most early stored-program computers, such as ENIAC after 1948. Consequently, ROM could be implemented at a lower cost-per-bit than RAM for many years. Likewise, every non-trivial computer needs some form of mutable memory to record changes in its state as it executes.