Directory ( computing ) - wikipedia Directory ( computing ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2014 ) Screenshot of a Windows / MS - DOS command prompt window showing a directory listing. In computing, a directory is a file system cataloging structure which contains references to other computer files, and possibly other directories. On many computers, directories are known as folders, or drawers to provide some relevancy to a workbench or the traditional office file cabinet. Files are organized by storing related files in the same directory. In a hierarchical filesystem ( that is, one in which files and directories are organized in a manner that resembles a tree ), a directory contained inside another directory is called a subdirectory. The terms parent and child are often used to describe the relationship between a subdirectory and the directory in which it is cataloged, the latter being the parent. The top-most directory in such a filesystem, which does not have a parent of its own, is called the root directory. Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Folder metaphor 2 Lookup cache 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Overview Diagram of a hierarchical directory tree. The root directory is here called ' MFD ', for Master File Directory. Historically, and even on some modern embedded systems, the file systems either had no support for directories at all or only had a `` flat '' directory structure, meaning subdirectories were not supported ; there were only a group of top - level directories each containing files. In modern systems, a directory can contain a mix of files and subdirectories. A reference to a location in a directory system is called a path. In many operating systems, programs have an associated working directory in which they execute. Typically, file names accessed by the program are assumed to reside within this directory if the file names are not specified with an explicit directory name. Some operating systems restrict a user 's access to only their home directory or project directory, thus isolating their activities from all other users. In early versions of Unix the root directory was the home directory of the root user, but modern Unix usually uses another directory such as / root for this purpose. In keeping with Unix philosophy, Unix systems treat directories as a type of file. Folder metaphor Sample folder icon ( from KDE ). The name folder, presenting an analogy to the file folder used in offices, and used in a hierarchical file system design for the Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting ( ERMA ) Mark 1 published in 1958 as well as by Xerox Star, is used in almost all modern operating systems ' desktop environments. Folders are often depicted with icons which visually resemble physical file folders. There is a difference between a directory, which is a file system concept, and the graphical user interface metaphor that is used to represent it ( a folder ). For example, Microsoft Windows uses the concept of special folders to help present the contents of the computer to the user in a fairly consistent way that frees the user from having to deal with absolute directory paths, which can vary between versions of Windows, and between individual installations. Many operating systems also have the concept of `` smart folders '' that reflect the results of a file system search or other operation. These folders do not represent a directory in the file hierarchy. Many email clients allow the creation of folders to organize email. These folders have no corresponding representation in the filesystem structure. If one is referring to a container of documents, the term folder is more appropriate. The term directory refers to the way a structured list of document files and folders is stored on the computer. The distinction can be due to the way a directory is accessed ; on Unix systems, / usr / bin / is usually referred to as a directory when viewed in a command line console, but if accessed through a graphical file manager, users may sometimes call it a folder. Lookup Cache This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( December 2013 ) Operating systems that support hierarchical filesystems ( practically all modern ones ) implement a form of caching to RAM of recent path lookups. In the Unix world, this is usually called Directory Name Lookup Cache ( DNLC ), although it is called dcache on Linux. For local filesystems, DNLC entries normally expire only under pressure from other more recent entries. For network file systems a coherence mechanism is necessary to ensure that entries have not been invalidated by other clients. See also Concepts Directory structure Filename Filesystem Hierarchy Standard Home directory Root directory Virtual folder Working directory Commands cd ( command ) chroot dir ( command ) mkdir pushd and popd References Jump up ^ `` Chapter 1 : Tutorial ''. Using The AMIGA Workbench. Commodore - Amiga. July 1991. p. 46. The path specifies the disk name, or location, and all of the drawers that lead to the specified file. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Archived March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Barnard III, G.A. ; Fein, L. ( 1958 ). `` Organization and Retrieval of Records Generated in a Large - Scale Engineering Project ''. Proceedings of the Eastern Joint Computer Conference : 59 -- 63. doi : 10.1109 / AFIPS. 1958.75. Jump up ^ `` '' Xerox Star User Interface ( 1982 ) `` ''. YouTube. Retrieved 19 November 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Close - To - Open Cache Consistency in the Linux NFS Client ''. Citi.umich.edu. Retrieved 19 November 2014. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Folders ( computing ). Definition of directory by The Linux Information Project ( LINFO ) Computer files Types Binary file / Text file File format List of file formats File signatures Magic number Metafile Sidecar file Sparse file Swap file System file Temporary file Zero - byte file Properties Filename 8.3 filename Long filename Filename mangling Filename extension List of filename extensions File attribute Extended file attributes File size Hidden file / Hidden directory Organisation Directory / Folder NTFS junction point Temporary folder Directory structure File sequence File system Filesystem Hierarchy Standard Path Operations Open Close Read Write Linking Alias File descriptor Hard link Shadow Shortcut Symbolic link Management File comparison File compression File manager Comparison of file managers File system permissions File transfer File sharing File verification Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Directory_(computing)&oldid=802677272 '' Categories : Computer file systems File system directories File system management Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from November 2014 All articles needing additional references Articles to be expanded from December 2013 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Talk Read Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca বাংলা Беларуская Català Čeština Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Kurdî Lumbaart Magyar Македонски Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Олык марий Polski Português Русский Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 September 2017, at 18 : 56. 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Question: what is the top folder of the file tree called
Answer: the root directory