In 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.
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage and folders. The most common performed on files or groups of files include creating, opening (e.g. , playing, editing or printing), renaming, , , and searching for files, as well as modifying s, properties and . Folders and files may be displayed in a hierarchical tree based on their directory structure. Graphical file managers may support copying and moving of files through "copy and paste" and "cut and paste" respectively, as well as through drag and drop, and a separate menu for selecting the target path.
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the s. It is also the component of the operating system that presents many user interface items on the screen such as the taskbar and desktop. Controlling the computer is possible without File Explorer running (for example, the command in Task Manager on NT-derived versions of Windows will function without it, as will commands typed in a command prompt window).
In computing, a computer file is a resource for recording data on a computer storage device, primarily identified by its . Just as words can be written on paper, so can data be written to a computer file. Files can be shared with and transferred between computers and mobile devices via removable media, networks, or the Internet. Different are designed for different purposes. A file may be designed to store an , a written message, a video, a program, or any wide variety of other kinds of data.
File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a , or to a region of a file, by allowing only one user or process to modify or delete it at a specific time and to prevent reading of the file while it's being modified or deleted. Systems implement locking to prevent the classic interceding update scenario, which is a typical example of a race condition, by enforcing the serialization of update processes to any given file.
