it used to be called advanced technology attachment with packet interface (ata/atapi). ata/atapi is the result of a long history of development. it is an evolution of the at attachment interface, which was itself evolved in several stages from western digital's original integrated drive electronics interface. as a result, many near-synonyms for ata/atapi and its previous incarnations exist, including abbreviations such as ide which are still in common informal use. with the market introduction of serial ata in 2003, the original ata was retroactively renamed parallel ata (pata).