What is a floppy disk also known as?

A floppy disk, commonly referred to as a diskette, is a magnetic storage medium that was widely used for data storage and transfer before the advent of more advanced technologies like USB flash drives and cloud storage. The term "diskette" specifically describes the thin, flexible disk encased in a protective plastic shell, designed to be inserted into a floppy disk drive.

This designation helps to distinguish it from other storage media. For instance, a flash drive is a solid-state device that uses flash memory, while solid-state drives involve more advanced storage technology with no moving parts, differing fundamentally from the magnetic storage of a floppy disk. Similarly, optical disks, such as CDs and DVDs, utilize laser technology to read and write data, which contrasts sharply with the magnetic mechanism of floppies. Therefore, the identification of a floppy disk as a diskette is firmly rooted in its physical characteristics and purpose within the realm of data storage.