access time

• IPA^(key): /ˈaksɛsˌtʌɪm/

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

access time (countable and uncountable, plural access times)

1. (computing) The time interval between the issuing of a request to read data from or write data to a storage device and the completion of this action.
   • 1986, Roger R Flynn, An Introduction to Information Science:

     Random access files have a fast access time, but they cannot easily produce sequential lists.

2. (computing) An item of metadata indicating when a file was last accessed.
   • 2005, Brian Wotring, Bruce Potter, Marcus J Ranum, Rainer Wichmann, Host Integrity Monitoring Using Osiris and Samhain:

     It is difficult to monitor both the access time and the change time, because monitoring the file attributes resets the access time […]