FILE SYSTEMS AND FILE MANAGEMENT

Bootstrap Process

The process of starting a computer involves handing off control from firmware to the operating system.

Traditional BIOS Booting

The process by which a PC starts with the BIOS initializing hardware and accessing the Master Boot Record.

Initialization

The first step of BIOS booting where the PC is turned on and hardware is initialized.

Master Boot Record (MBR)

Code stored at the start of disk 0 that the BIOS calls during booting.

Partition Loading

The process where the MBR loads code from the boot sector of the active partition.

Bootloader

Code that runs from the boot sector and presents an OS menu to load the selected OS kernel.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

Modern replacement for BIOS that offers advantages such as faster boot times and support for larger disks.

EFI System Partition (ESP)

A special partition where UEFI stores initialization information in an .efi file.

GUID Partition Table (GPT)

A partitioning scheme that supports disks larger than 2 TiB.

Block

The smallest unit of data storage, typically between 256 and 4096 bytes.

Cluster

A group of one or more blocks used for file storage.

Logical View

How a user perceives the contents and attributes of files.

Physical View

The actual storage of files within the computer system.

Sequential Access

An access method where records must be retrieved from the beginning.

Random/Relative Access

An access method that allows records to be retrieved from anywhere in any sequence.

Contiguous Allocation

A file storage method where blocks are stored together in a row.

Non-contiguous (Linked) Allocation

A file storage method where blocks are scattered and each contains a link to the next block.

File Allocation Table (FAT)

A variation of linked allocation where links are stored in a central table.

Indexed Allocation

A file storage method where pointers for a file are stored in a single index block.

Unix i-nodes

A data structure in Unix that uses direct and indirect blocks for file storage.

Journaling File Systems

File systems that use a log file to record transactions requiring write access.

Structure Only Journaling

A method that protects the integrity of the file system structure.

Full Data Journaling

A method that guarantees the integrity of data not yet written to disk.

File Protection

A system that offers Read, Write, and Execution protection for files.

Access Control List (ACL)

A detailed list of users and their specific permissions for file access.

Acyclic-Graph Directory

A directory structure that allows links between branches without cycles.

Tree-Structure Directory

A hierarchical structure for organizing files with a top-level root.

Absolute Path

A full path starting from the root directory.

Relative Path

A path created starting from the current directory.