DOS Directory and File Commands. In order to store information in a reliable, organized fashion, DOS provides commands that manipulate abstract structures called files and directories . DOS File Structures. Files are abstractions that are used to contain information in a manner accessible to the user. Files are usually named in a mnemonic fashion, i.e., in a manner that facilitates understanding of file contents by inspection of the file name.
Directories are high-level abstract constructs that are convenient for grouping files together.
Root Directory is the highest-level directory. Let us look ahead briefly to the DIR command, which displays directory contents, to see how DOS commands can interact with this concept of directory and file structures. DOS File Naming Conventions. File types are also specified by their extensions. Filenames may include wildcards , which are ways of making filenaming easier when you don't know the complete file name.