Page 70 - Ai Book - 10

FILE SYSTEM STRUCTURE

Every file system uses a specific structure and system for creating, storing
and accessing files. It also provides routines to add and manipulate data
contained in the files. Most file systems provide the facility of creating folders
or directories under which files can be stored.

In Windows operating system, the file system follows a top-down, hierarchical
structure. The root directory is usually the drive where the files are stored.
Folders created under the root directory are used to organize and store files
of different types.

File Names

Each file in a computer is identified by a name. The name of a file is usually
made up of two parts – a primary name, that identifies the file name and an
extension, that identifies the type of the file and the program that can use that
file. For example, a file with the name “Image.bmp” tells us the name of the file,
Image, and the extension “.bmp” tells us that the file is a bitmap image file and
it can be opened using Paint program.
File Types Extension Description

Data and information in a computer are stored in different types .exe executable files
of files. Each file type describes the type of data that can be stored .bat batch files
in it and also provides mechanisms to access the data stored in .dll device driver files
it. The various file types are identified by the extension of the file .docx Word document files
name. Some common file types are: .jpg JPEG (image) files
File Path .html HTML files

To access any file, its location on a disk drive or a network must be known. This location is described by the file
path. For example, the file path of a file named “Report1.txt” saved under folder “Office” on disk drive C, is “C:\
Office\Report1.txt”.
File paths can be Absolute, which state the complete path of the file starting from the root folder upto the
location of the file, or Relative, which state the path of the file starting from the current folder.

Knowledge Botwledge Bot
Kno
Windows operating systems use either the FAT (File Allocation Table) or NTFS (New Technology File
System) file systems to manage files in a computer. Older versions of Windows used the FAT or FAT32
system whereas versions of Windows operating system from Windows 7 onwards use NTFS. The NTFS
allows for longer filenames that may include special characters, which was not allowed by FAT32
systems.

WORKING WITH FILES AND FOLDERS

We create files while working on computer. We also create folders on computer and keep our files in the folders.

Files in Computer

Everything on a computer is stored as a file of one type or another.
u When we save our work in a program, it is saved as a file.
u All the software saved on the computer are also stored as files. Paint file icon Image file icon Program file icon

64
64