write-only
No retrieval possible
Write-only describes data storage or communication channels that can receive information but cannot be read back.
In computing, certain hardware registers are write-only for security or design reasons—you can send commands to them but cannot retrieve their contents.
The term is used humorously for documentation or code that is so poorly organized it might as well be unreadable: That manual is essentially write-only.
The opposite is read-only.
Official allowances granted
- restrictedLimited in scope
- confidentialMeant to stay secret
- sealedClosed to prevent entry
- opaqueImpassable to light
unreadable · protected · locked · classified · one-way
Stored historical records
- logSectioned tree trunk
- journalRecord of daily events
- ledgerFinancial record book
- registerRecord officially; vocal range
record · backup · tape · sequential · blob · immutable · insert · persist
What something generates
- loggingRecording system events
- streamingReal-time digital delivery
- emittingSending something out
- exportingSending goods abroad
transmitting · broadcasting · publishing · committing · serialization · encoding · generating · producing
Pathological loss of recall
- forgettingFailing to retain memories
- blackoutComplete power loss
- unrecallableCannot be summoned back
- irretrievableImpossible to regain
permissions
Official allowances granted
- restrictedLimited in scope
- confidentialMeant to stay secret
- sealedClosed to prevent entry
opaque · unreadable · protected · locked · classified · one-way
archive
Stored historical records
register · record · backup · tape · sequential · blob · immutable · insert · persist
output
What something generates
exporting · transmitting · broadcasting · publishing · committing · serialization · encoding · generating · producing · buffer
amnesia
Pathological loss of recall
- forgettingFailing to retain memories
- blackoutComplete power loss
- unrecallableCannot be summoned back
irretrievable · lost · erased · forgotten · oblivion · blanked
write-onlyread-only
Viewable but not changeable
readable · maintainable · self-documenting · comprehensible · legible
write, only, writes, wrote, written, writing, writer, writers, rewrite