Talk:Directory (computing)

message: The true statement, with citations, that "In computing, a directory and a folder are the same thing" is surrounded by a bunch of uncited and baseless verbiage about how they're supposedly different. -- Jibal (talk) 10:38, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  This article is awful 

message: i want to know about direcory structure in unix
: This page isn't for questions. -- Jibal (talk) 10:39, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Question

message: I really would like to know who first coined the "folder" metaphor. Was it originally Apple ? Or did they get it from Xerox PARC ? Maybe it was Susan Kare who thought of it when drawing the first files... —Preceding unsigned comment added by XApple (talk) 17:11, May 2, 2007 (UTC)
: This page isn't for expressions of personal curiosity. Do some research and, if it bears fruit, add the information, with citations, to the article. -- Jibal (talk) 10:41, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: History

message: , ,     ... um... no
  <- remove new?
 <- same here
I want to draw directory trees :-) 
--Kim Bruning (talk) 23:39, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Collecting together some images from commons ... 

message: Might this page be better titled as "Directory (computing)"? If I recall correctly, directory was the original name in the hierarchical system. Scienceman123 talk 05:58, 6 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: +1 to a move to where it belongs.KiloByte (talk) 22:43, 15 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move to 'directory' 

message: This article is all messed up. It sounds like it was written by someone who had no idea what they were talking about, and because directory was the original term, it should the title of the article.
And there is NO difference between the two, at least originally meant.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anikom15 (talk • contribs) 17:56, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Amen to that.  Obviously written by someone who is not conversant with the subject.  BTW the correct term is directory, not "folder."  The latter is Windows-speak for people who don't know anything about computer operating systems.  38.69.12.6 (talk) 05:50, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Um, no. As the person you're saying "amen" to stated, there's no difference. Therefore it's nonsense talk about "the correct term" and to claim that "folder" is for people who don't know anything about computer systems ... quite ironic, since the people who invented the "desktop" metaphor and associated metaphors such as folders knew a great deal about computer systems. BTW, while a "directory" in the UNIX filesystem really is a directory that maps names to inode numbers, folders need not be implemented that way. -- Jibal (talk) 10:53, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  It should be title "Directory" 

message: Reference 3 contains a broken link apparently to an article titled "Everything Is a File in Unix". I'm not familiar with the referenced article, but I wonder if this is it: http://www.bga.org/~lessem/psyc5112/usail/concepts/filesystems/everything-is-a-file.html. Not a huge deal, but I thought I'd bring it up in case anyone knows of a replacement link. (Googling on "everything is a file in unix" brings up lots of hits -- even with the enclosing quotes to force an exact search -- so it's hard to know if the referenced article is out there.)
Peytonbland (talk) 21:42, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Everything Is a File in Unix" 

message: :Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *Support or *Oppose, then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.
*Support the more common form, used in more operating systems, over a longer period of time, and still used on the network backends in the modern day systems such as Windows, where at the command line, it's still called directories. And under OSX command line where it is also directories. -- 65.92.180.137 (talk) 22:23, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Survey

message: I just read "Organization and Retrieval of Records Generated in a Large-Scale Engineering Project," which is cited by this Wikipedia page and refers to the file system that was used by the ERMA Mark I system in the late 1950s that processes bank checks.  After reading the paper, I'm under the impression that this is not a digital file system that uses folders as a metaphor, but it's actually a physical filing system that uses physical Pendaflex and manila folders for storing paper records.  The paper describes a hierarchical classification system for organizing various system records that is somewhat reminiscent of the classification systems used by libraries to organize books and other media.  Thus, I believe that it is incorrect to state that this paper introduced the folder metaphor to digital file systems, since this paper describes a physical filing system.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mmcthrow (talk • contribs) 20:11, 9 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reference to "Organization and Retrieval of Records Generated In a Large-Scale Engineering Project" 

message: I've just removed this:
:catalogs (catalog was used on the Apple II, the Commodore 128 and some other early home computers as a command for displaying disk contents; the filesystems used by these did not support hierarchal directories)
There's no reference given to support any OS using 'catalogs' to refer to directories; and the rest is irrelevant. Snori (talk) 18:19, 5 September 2016 (UTC)
replies: text:  I know this comment is really old, but i am gonna answer anyways.. the first versions of some early personal computer operating systems had just one directory, the root directory (or the root directories in the case of DOS, considering drive letters). Windows still have some backwards compatibility with this, and it's the reason why you still to this day can not name files inside any directory "CON", "PRN", "AUX", et.c.https://help.interfaceware.com/v6/windows-reserved-file-names. This is what "the catalogue" refers to, probably. For backwards compatibility Windows treats these special file names as being in every directory, since back then All directories was The root directory.  · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 14:30, 29 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Catlogs?

message: like the number of your apartment is not your full address. A directory is a path to a folder. For example c:\AA\BB\ is a directory, but BB is simply a folder. This is a very common misconception. Even in the official Python documentation you can find:  , and some programmers may think that directories ("dirs") contain full paths to folders, while they do not. So, the correct version should be: . As a programmer, I deal with directories and folders all the time. How is it that my programs work? ;-) 85.193.252.19 (talk) 11:38, 29 April 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: AFAIK there is no widely adopted standard vocabulary for these kinds of things. Some operating systems, such as windows, even contradict themselves at times. POSIX seem to say that a directory is what you call a folderhttps://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19048-01/chorus4/806-3328/6jcg1bm05/index.html. Maybe it's just best to be clear at all times what is meant, or if you feel like it, maybe spend an hour on compiling a list of definitions from various standards and maybe write about it in the article. Z/OS have a particularly weird idea of these things, with datasets and whatnot, predating the use of "normal" file systems, and is still used today.  · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 13:25, 29 April 2021 (UTC)
replies: text:  Though English is very illogical and ambiguous, we should try to improve it. Sadly, we do nothing, and native English speakers mindlessly copy what they hear. I can tolerate all those ridiculous, illogical words and phrases as long they are not ambiguous. To me "often times, the reason is because (...)" sounds ridiculous but I understand the intended meaning. However, if somebody says "I only speak Chinese" I have no idea what he or she means because most native speakers never heard of misplaced modifiers. "I can only speak Chinese" means that I can't write in Chinese, while "I can speak only Chinese" means that Chinese is the only language I know. To me English is an easy to learn, worldwide but primitive language. The only thing we can do is use it as logically as possible. BTW, is Swedish as ambiguous a English? ;-) 85.193.252.19 (talk) 10:57, 30 April 2021 (UTC)
replies: text:  The flesh is indeed weak.  · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 19:41, 30 April 2021 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yeah, though sometimes the spirit is willing. What flesh did you mean? It would be a puzzle even for native speakers. Was it poetry or a translation from Swedish? ;-) You probably meant the core of the language, didn't you? 85.193.252.19 (talk) 12:14, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
replies: text:  I meant the human flesh. As in that we humans are not very formal! :)  · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 01:38, 2 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  A folder is not a directory, 

message: Is the diagram in the Overview section correct - showing File2 in two directories?  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 05:03, 2 May 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: It can be if the file is hard linked, so it appears in two directories.  · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 05:48, 3 May 2021 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thanks, I didn't know about hard linking.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 18:08, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Is diagram correct? 

message: I've asked about the etymology of the name "Directory" in computing terms on the Reference Desk, which has not had many answer apart from Lambian saying it was used in Multics in 1965. Does anyone else has information on this. --Salix alba (talk): 20:01, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  etymology of a directory in computing 

message: The redirect Inode/directory has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached.  Onel5969 TT me 14:44, 10 March 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  "[[:Inode/directory]]" listed at [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion|Redirects for discussion]]