Other Definitions
computer file (dict)
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Computer FileA file in a computer system is a stream (sequence) of bits stored as a single unit, typically in a file system on disk or magnetic tape. While a file is usually presented as a single stream, it most often is stored as multiple fragments of data at different places on a disk (or even multiple disks). One of the services operating systems usually perform for applications is that organization of files in a file system. Files are created by software and usually conform to a particular file format. They are almost always assigned file names by the file system on which they are stored, so that they can be referred to at a later time. An important subclass of file is the text file. A text file is a sequence of characters often organized into lines separated by line breaks. The term "binary file" usually refers to any file other than a text file. A special file is a file system object which is accessed as though it was a file, but the sequence of bits is supplied or consumed by another process (or by the operating system itself) such as a device driver or network interface. Indeed, the philosophy that "everything is a file" is one of the best known design decisions in Unix and Unix-like operating systems (such as Linux). Files are often organized hierarchically by the operating system, placing them in directories. Notes - A collection of bytes in RAM isn't usually known as a file, unless it's stored in a RAM disk.
- Historically it was common for files to be defined as sequences of records. However this is now uncommon except on certain mainframe operating systems. On most systems, the application or a library creates the "record" abstraction from the byte stream according to the file format.
- Some operating systems use a three letter extension to differentiate files . For example executable files in MS DOS have an extension ".EXE " , for text files it is " .TXT " . 'Unix like' operating systems do not have any fixed extension for files .
See also External links File
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