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In computing, a directory, catalog, or folder, is an entity in a file system which contains a group of files and other directories. A typical file system contains thousands of files, and directories help organize them by keeping related files together. A directory contained inside another directory is called a subdirectory of that directory. Together, the directories form a hierarchy, or tree structure.
If you imagine the computer's file system as a file cabinet, high-level directories may be represented by the drawers, while lower-level subdirectories may be represented as file folders within the drawers.
Historically, and even on some modern embedded devices, the filesystems either have no support for directories at all or only have a flat directory structure, meaning subdirectories are not allowed; there is only a group of top-level directories each containing files. The first popular fully general hierarchical filesystem was that of UNIX. This type of filesystem was an early research interest of Dennis Ritchie.
In modern times in Linux and other Unix-like systems, directory structure is strictly defined by the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.
The name folder, presenting an analogy to the file folder used in offices, is common on some operating systems such as Mac OS and, increasingly, Microsoft WindowsImage use policy. Microsoft Windows is a range of commercial operating environments for personal computers. The range was first introduced by Microsoft in 1985 and eventually has come to dominate the world personal computer market. All recent versions of.
Strictly speaking, there is a difference between a directory which is a filing systemSee File system for the term's usage in computing. Libraries employ filing systems to allow them to store and retrieve books effectively. The two most common examples are the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress Classification system. concept, and the WIMPIn human-computer interaction, WIMP stands for "window, icon, menu, pointing device", denoting a style of interaction using these elements. It is often used as an approximate synonym of graphical user interfaces. WIMP interaction was developed at Xerox PA metaphor that is used to represent it (a folder).
Note that the folder metaphor may be misleading with regard to things like file permissions on UNIXUNIX (or Unix is a portable, multi-task and multi-user computer operating system originally developed by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. Unices The term Unices includes Unix and Unix-like ope: To rename or delete a file you need write permission to the directory that contains the file. This is perfectly understandable if the directory is seen as a list of filenames but not if it is seen as a container (as folder implies).
In graphical user interface (GUI)A graphical user interface (or GUI pronounced "gooey") is a method of interacting with a computer through a metaphor of direct manipulation of graphical images and widgets in addition to text. GUIs and PUIs The precursor to GUIs was invented by researcher or WIMP environments, folders are often depicted with iconAn icon (from Greek εικων, eikon "image") is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. An icon could be a painting (including relief painting), sculptures which resemble physical file folders such as those of a file cabinet in an office.
The word directory is also used in computing and telephony with a different sense: a central repository of information related to management of a computer or a network of computers. This includes data on users, applications, hosts, network devices, security credentials and more. The directory, as opposed to a database, is heavily optimized for reading, with the assumption that data updates are very rare compared to data reads.
Currently ( as of 2003) the prominent directory technology is LDAP, which is descended from the X.500 standard. Microsoft's implementation of LDAP is Active Directory.
The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) is creating standards related to the information stored in such directories, and the protocols and APIs used to access it. The main product of these efforts is a common information model ( CIM ) for management.
See also: directory service, web directory.
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