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file
The smallest logical storage unit; a collection of related information defined by its creator.
text file
A type of file containing text (alphanumeric characters).
source file
A file containing the source code of a program
executable file
A file containing a program that is ready to be loaded into memory and executed.
extended file attributes
Extended metadata about a file, including items such as character encoding details, file checksums, etc
file info window
A GUI view of the file metadata
write pointer
The location in a file to which the next write will occur
read pointer
The location in a file from which the next read will occur.
current-file-position pointer
A per-process pointer to the location in a file to which the next read or from which the next write will occur.
seek
The operation of changing the current file-position pointer.
hard links
File-system links in which a file has two or more names pointing to the same inode.
open-file table
An operating system data structure containing details of every file open within the system
open count
The number of processes having an open file
shared lock
A file lock similar to a reader lock in that several processes can obtain the lock concurrently
exclusive lock
A file lock similar to a writer lock in that only one process at a time can obtain the lock.
advisory file-lock mechanism
A file-locking system in which the operating system does not enforce locking and file access, leaving it to processes to implement the details.
shell script
A file containing a set series of commands (similar to a batch file) that are specific to the shell being used.
magic number
A crude method of storing a number at the start of a file to indicate the type of the data in the file
sequential access
A file-access method in which contents are read in order, from beginning to end
direct access
A file-access method in which contents are read in random order, or at least not sequentially
relative access
A file-access method in which contents are read in random order, or at least not sequentially.
logical records
File contents logically designated as fixed-length structured data
relative block number
An index relative to the beginning of a file. The first relative block of the file is block 0, the next is block 1, and so on through the end of the file.
allocation problem
The determination by the operating system of where to store the blocks of a file.
index
In file systems, an access method built on top of direct access in which a file contains an index with pointers to the contents of the file.
user file directory (UFD)
In two-level directory implementation, a per-user directory of files
main file directory (MFD)
In two-level directory implementation, the index pointing to each UFD.
path name
The file-system name for a file, which contains all the mount-point and directory-entry information needed to locate the file (e.g., "C:/foo/bar.txt" and "/foo/bar.txt")
search path
In some operating systems, the sequence of directories searched for an executable file when a command is executed.
absolute path name
A path name starting at the top of the file system hierarchy.
relative path name
A path name starting at a relative location (such as the current directory).
acyclic graph
In directory structure implementation, a structure that contains no cycles (loops).
link
In file naming, a file that has no contents but rather points to another file.
resolve
Generally, to translate from a symbolic representation to a numeric one. In networking, to translate from a host name to a host-id. With files, to follow a link and find the target file.
hard links
File-system links in which a file has two or more names pointing to the same inode.
garbage collection
In general, recovery of space containing no-longer-valid data.
access-control list
A list of user names allowed to access a file.
Linux commands
commands used in the Linux operating system to interact with the system, manage files, manage processes, and perform various tasks through the command-line interface
memory mapping
A file-access method in which a file is mapped into the process memory space so that standard memory access instructions read and write the contents of the file; an alternative to the use of read() and write() calls.
file mapping
In Windows, the first step in memory-mapping a file.
view
In Windows, an address range mapped in shared memory. Also, the second step in memory-mapping a file, allowing a process to access the file contents.
named shared-memory object
In Windows API, a section of a memory-mapped file accessible by name from multiple processes.
device driver
software that allows the operating system to communicate and control different hardware devices
