File system

In computing, a file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. File systems may use a storage device such as a hard disk or CD-ROM and involve maintaining the physical location of the files, they might provide access to data on a file server by acting as clients for a network protocol (e.g., NFS, SMB, or 9P clients), or they may be virtual and exist only as an access method for virtual data (e.g. procfs).

More formally, a file system is a set of abstract data types that are implemented for the storage, hierarchical organization, manipulation, navigation, access, and retrieval of data. It is debatable whether a file system can be classified as a special-purpose database (DBMS). Needless to say, file systems share much in common with database technology.(Source Wikipedia)

Whether the file system has an underlying storage device or not, file systems typically have directories which associate file names with files, usually by connecting the file name to an index into a file allocation table of some sort, such as the FAT in an MS-DOS file system, or an inode in a Unix-like filesystem. Directory structures may be flat, or allow hierarchies where directories may contain subdirectories. In some file systems, file names are structured, with special syntax for filename extensions and version numbers. In others, file names are simple strings, and per-file metadata is stored elsewhere. (Source: Wikipedia)

See Also

List of File Systems

External links

• Filesystems of Operating Systems
• Filesystem Specifications and Technical Whitepapers
• Interesting File System Projects

References

System Wikipedia article on File System

From CompuWiki, a Wikia wiki.