A Comparison of Disks and Tapes The principal characteristics of current magnetic disks and tape units are summarized and compared. Some of the characteristics of disk files are illustrated in a sorting example and compared to a tapesort. The conclusion is presented that disk files are competitive to tapes in some important applications. CACM October, 1963 Hess, H. CA631031 JB March 13, 1978 4:21 PM 694 5 694 694 5 694 694 5 694