Background

CD burners make it possible to write to CDs. The process of "burning" a CD is a two-step process. First, you create an image file, which encapsulates everything that you want on the CD. Then, you use the CD burner to emblazen the image onto a CD. This means that anything that can be incorporated into the image file can be replicated into a CD.

This technology is traditionally used as a way of encapsulating a large amount of data that does not need to be writable (i.e. read-only format is acceptable) into a single storage unit that makes for easy and convenient transport. It is a favorite among research and software developing professionals since it allows them to easily transfer copies of their work, which may be quite sizable, to interested parties.