This guide provides information on many aspects of CD-ROM development. Storage requirements of multimedia applications such as graphic images, audio, video, and animation are provided in section one. Storage capacity, transfer rate, and access time are the three criteria used to judge various storage media. In section two, specifications for these criteria are given for floppy disks, hard drives, network delivery, removable media, laser discs, and CD-ROMs. The following aspects of CD-ROM technology are discussed in section three: How do CD-ROMs work?, and How is data read from and organized on CD-ROMs? A discussion on constant angular velocity (CAV), constant linear velocity (CLV), and data layout of CD-ROMs is also included. Section four provides information on CD-ROM standards, including physical level standards (Red Book, Yellow Book, Green Book, Orange Book, and White Book) and logical level standards (High Sierra, ISO-9660). Hardware and software requirements for CD-recordability are outlined in section five. CD-recordable process steps include: (1) preparing the data and applications; (2) premastering; and (3) mastering. (MAS)