What does this mean to copy data from a temporary file to a more permanent location?
Temporary files are used a lot in computers. Most of the time, a
temporary file is created when changes to a permanent file cannot
be made until a certain process is complete.
A simple analogy might be painting a wall. Before you can paint
the wall, anything hanging on the wall must be moved to a temporary
holding area while the wall is being painted. After the painting
process is complete, you move the items from their temporary
location back to the permanent location - the wall that they hang
on.
Computers actually follow a very similar process whenever a file
is updated. Often times, the original file is copied to a temporary
folder where the computer will make any changes needed to the file.
When all the changes are complete, the computer might request your
approval before the information is permanently stored in the
permanent location where the file belongs.
Many modern word processing software programs (like Microsoft
Word, Corel Wordperfect, or OpenOffice Writer) will create
temporary files for new documents before the user actually saves
the document to its permanent folder. This way, if the power fails
suddenly, many of these programs can then check for any temporary
files (such as a 30 page essay you've been working on for the past
three hours) and "restore" your work. When you actually tell the
program to save the file and give it a file name, the file is then
moved to its permanent location.