Directory is .. Creating directories. File system

Quite often, many users are faced with the concept of a directory. Some people, after hearing the question: "Directory - this is what?", Shrugged their shoulders, although every person working with a computer faces it every day. But let's look at the essence of the matter in more detail.

Computer terminology: the directory is ...

In general, the very word "directory" has a lot of meanings. But, since in this case we are talking about computer systems and technologies, we will start from this direction.

So, in the computer world, the meaning of the word "directory" is known to everyone and everyone, and the concept itself is treated as a "directory" or "folder". In other words, this is one of the fundamental components of the file system. Simply put, this is the element of the file system .

File system and principles of ordering files

A folder, directory, or directory is a fairly conventional concept. The matter is that physically on a hard disk or any removable medium such element is not present, unlike even from a file with zero size. Thus, a directory is an element, so to speak, virtual. Own place on the disk folder in which there are no files, does not take absolutely no. If there is something in it, the virtual volume of the occupied disk memory completely coincides with the total size of all the objects that are inside it. But for the existence of a directory there is a special file without an extension, in which information about objects, their number, the date of creation or modification, the size, etc., is stored.

Another thing is that the introduction to the use of such an element allowed you to organize files according to some criteria. In other words, a folder as a file system allows you to group any number of files.

In real life, you can make a similar comparison. In fact, a directory is a kind of virtual box into which the user puts the things he needs (in this case, files). So it turns out that the documents are not scattered throughout the hard drive (although physically it is), but are in strictly defined places. Such a precise ordering in a few minutes allows you to find the right object. It goes without saying that the folders have their names.

The simplest example is the standard My Documents directory. It is clear that the user's own files will be searched here, because, as a rule, they do not put them to another place for convenience. In addition, Windows-systems, for example, initially offer the user specialized catalogs for storing information of a certain type ("My Music", "My Videos", etc.). Naturally, their use is not mandatory. On the other hand, if you use them, you will always know exactly where and what is.

Viewing folders in file managers

The folders themselves, in addition to the fact that they can contain an unlimited number of files, can also include subfolders, nested according to the type of matryoshka. It turns out a sort of hierarchical structure, which is usually called when displaying a tree.

In the simplest example, you can consider the standard "Explorer", although in other similar programs the type of folders can differ significantly. Take the same Windows Commander. But now it's not about that.

Actually, here you can change the display options for folders (and files), for example, view them in the form of a list, tables with additional parameters, tiles or large icons. In addition, for any folder, the icon can be changed, if the scan is not done according to the type of the list or table.

This makes the matter even simpler. Suppose a user for the folder "Music" installs an icon with music notes. Even without paying attention to the name, he immediately sees that it is music, and not something else.

Another advantage is that when displaying folders with subfolders in the form of large icons, the directory can be displayed as a partially opened book, which instead of the pages will have screenshots (if it's graphics and video) or even file page layouts in nested directories.

Display hidden objects

It goes without saying that some folders are hidden from the user's eyes, especially system catalogs. By default in Windows, this is done for security reasons. So that the user does not delete the important files responsible for the functioning of the system.

To view such objects, it is sufficient to use the view menu, where the option to display hidden files and folders should be used.

The simplest operations with folders

Actually, with directories it is possible to make almost all actions related to files, with the exception of editing in the usual sense. You can copy, delete, move, rename, create icons, and so on.

Creation of directories is also not difficult. For example, in the same "Explorer" it is enough to right-click on an empty area of the work area and call the appropriate command. After that, a new directory with the name "New folder" will be created by default. Naturally, this is not the only way. You can use the main menu commands, special panel buttons or the standard Ctrl + Shift + N combination. In general, there are different methods for different file managers.

Directory of sites

With the concept of "site directory" the situation is somewhat more complicated, although the principle of understanding the essence itself is practically the same. The matter is that in this case the directory is the root directory, in which all the elements of the web site being created or already created, for example in HTML language, will be stored.

First of all, the root directory must contain the Index.html file (main page), the Content folder (for pages) and Images (for pictures) are loaded there. However, it is not necessary to use just such names. They can be designated as anything - say, give names on the headings, in which materials will be placed on a certain topic. True, this will increase the root directory itself, but in some cases it is through this that you can reduce the path to the pages themselves.

Conclusion

As you can see from all of the above, the directory is a kind of container or, if you want, a box into which the necessary content is placed. And it is the directory that is one of the fundamental elements that allows you to clearly organize the file structure.