Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

CAM: Content Addressable Memory

Content Addressable Memory (CAM) is a special type of computer memory used in certain very high speed searching applications. CAM is designed such that the user supplies a data word and the CAM searches its entire memory to see if that data word is stored anywhere in it. If the data word is found, the CAM returns a list of one or more storage addresses where the word was found (and in some architectures, it also returns the data word, or other associated pieces of data). Thus, a CAM is the hardware embodiment of what in software terms would be called an associative array.

Related Terms

CAM: Content Addressable Memory