The structure of the file system is a hierarchy which looks like an
inverted or upside down tree with the root at the top.
It is common
for directories to have subdirectories. This is similar to having a
file drawer called Projects (directory) containing folders in it with
the names of individual projects (subdirectories). Directories can
contain subdirectories and files. Subdirectories can also contain
additional subdirectories and more files. All operating systems have
some sort of directory structure to organize information on their hard
disks. With some operating systems such as Windows and MacOS,
directories are referred to as folders. With the UNIX file system,
they are called directories but are used in the same manner.
Figure
shows a hierarchical directory
structure as an inverted tree. A common hierarchical system or
structure we are all familiar with is the family tree of our
ancestors. The file system directory structure is similar to a family
tree. With the exception of the root directory, each directory in the
hierarchy has a parent directory and most will have child directories
which are referred to as subdirectories. The root directory is always
at the top of the hierarchy and is designated as a forward slash (/).
Each child directory is contained in a
parent directory.
This is similar to having a set of file folders
where each folder (directory) has a folder inside (subdirectory). The
location of a file or directory in the tree can be specified by naming
each directory you have to go through to access it. A fully qualified
file or directory name is also known as an absolute pathname and
includes the names of all parent directories above it. For example, to
determine the location of the notes document, we must name all folders
above it.
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