File Concepts

File System Concepts

What is a File?

A file is a named collection of related information stored on secondary storage.

File Attributes

• Name: Human-readable identifier
• Identifier: Unique tag (inode number)
• Type: File type (text, binary, directory)
• Location: Pointer to data on disk
• Size: Current file size
• Protection: Access control (rwx)
• Timestamps: Created, modified, accessed

File Operations

File Types

Type	Extension	Description
Regular	various	User data
Directory	-	Contains file names
Device	-	Character/block devices
Link	-	Symbolic link
Socket	-	IPC endpoint