Persistence (computer science)
computer system state that outlives the process that created it
In computer science, persistence refers to the characteristic of state of a system that outlives (persists for longer than) the process that created it. This is achieved in practice by storing the state as data in computer data storage. Programs have to transfer data to and from storage devices and have to provide mappings from the native programming-language data structures to the storage device data structures.
Picture editing programs or word processors, for example, achieve state persistence by saving their documents to files.
Orthogonal or transparent persistence
Persistence is said to be "orthogonal" or "transparent" when it is implemented as an intrinsic property of the execution environment of a program. An orthogonal persistence environment does not require any specific actions by programs running in it to retrieve or save their state.
Non-orthogonal persistence requires data to be written and read to and from storage using specific instructions in a program, resulting in the use of persist as a transitive verb: On completion, the program persists the data.
The advantage of orthogonal persistence environments is simpler and less error-prone programs.
The term "persistent" was first introduced by Atkinson and Morrison in the sense of orthogonal persistence: they used an adjective rather than a verb to emphasize persistence as a property of the data, as distinct from an imperative action performed by a program. The use of the transitive verb "persist" (describing an action performed by a program) is a back-formation.
The public source identifies “Persistence (computer science)” as computer system state that outlives the process that created it. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Persistence, computer and science.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Persistence (computer science)”, the useful work is to connect “computer system state that outlives the process that created it” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1400808. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Persistence (computer science)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Persistence (computer science) primary sources, Persistence (computer science) archive and Persistence research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Persistence (computer science)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Persistence (computer science)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.