File systemIn computing, a file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one large body of data with no way to tell where one piece of data stopped and the next began, or where any piece of data was located when it was time to retrieve it. By separating the data into pieces and giving each piece a name, the data are easily isolated and identified.
Cd (command)The command, also known as (change directory), is a command-line shell command used to change the current working directory in various operating systems. It can be used in shell scripts and s. The command has been implemented in operating systems such as Unix, DOS, IBM OS/2, MetaComCo TRIPOS, AmigaOS (where if a bare path is given, cd is implied), Microsoft Windows, ReactOS, and Linux. On MS-DOS, it is available in versions 2 and later. DR DOS 6.0 also includes an implementation of the and commands.
Directory (computing)In computing, a directory is a cataloging structure which contains references to other s, and possibly other directories. On many computers, directories are known as folders, or drawers, analogous to a workbench or the traditional office filing cabinet. The name derives from books like a telephone directory that lists the phone numbers of all the people living in a certain area. Files are organized by storing related files in the same directory.
Command-line interfaceA command-line interface (CLI) is a means of interacting with a device or computer program with commands from a user or client, and responses from the device or program, in the form of lines of text. Such access was first provided by computer terminals starting in the mid-1960s. This provided an interactive environment not available with punched cards or other input methods. Operating system command-line interfaces are often implemented with command-line interpreters or command-line processors.
Dir (command)In computing, dir (directory) is a command in various computer operating systems used for and directory listing. It is one of the basic commands to help navigate the . The command is usually implemented as an internal command in the command-line interpreter (shell). On some systems, a more graphical representation of the directory structure can be displayed using the tree command.
Command (computing)In computing, a command is a directive to a computer program to perform a specific task. It may be issued via a command-line interface, such as a shell, or as input to a network service as part of a network protocol, or as an event in a graphical user interface triggered by the user selecting an option in a menu. Specifically, the term command is used in imperative computer languages. The name arises because statements in these languages are usually written in a manner similar to the imperative mood used in many natural languages.
Environment variableAn environment variable is a user-definable value that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer. Environment variables are part of the environment in which a process runs. For example, a running process can query the value of the TEMP environment variable to discover a suitable location to store s, or the HOME or USERPROFILE variable to find the directory structure owned by the user running the process.
Path (computing)A path is a string of characters used to uniquely identify a location in a directory structure. It is composed by following the directory tree hierarchy in which components, separated by a delimiting character, represent each directory. The delimiting character is most commonly the slash ("/"), the backslash character (""), or colon (":"), though some operating systems may use a different delimiter. Paths are used extensively in computer science to represent the directory/file relationships common in modern operating systems and are essential in the construction of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).
Root directoryIn a computer , and primarily used in the Unix and Unix-like operating systems, the root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy. It can be likened to the trunk of a tree, as the starting point where all branches originate from. The root file system is the file system contained on the same disk partition on which the root directory is located; it is the filesystem on top of which all other file systems are mounted as the system boots up.
InodeThe inode (index node) is a data structure in a that describes a object such as a or a directory. Each inode stores the attributes and disk block locations of the object's data. File-system object attributes may include metadata (times of last change, access, modification), as well as owner and data. A directory is a list of inodes with their assigned names. The list includes an entry for itself, its parent, and each of its children. There has been uncertainty on the Linux kernel mailing list about the reason for the "i" in "inode".
