In the first electronic computers, vacuum tubes, followed by magnetic core were used as RAM. The term "core dump" is still used to describe a system failure where the information is written out for analysis, and is known to most people as the numbers on a Blue Screen of Death.
Computers use this type of memory to hold the program text and variables during execution. RAM is a member of the larger class referred to as computer storage. Unlike some other forms of computer storage such as disk storage and [tape storage]?, RAM is typically entirely deleted when the computer is powered down.
Common types of RAM: