File in Computing

Informatics

2022

We explain what a computer file is and what it is for. Characteristics of a file. File formats and examples.

Word files and excel files, along with some folders.

What is a file?

In computing, an organized set of units of information is known as a file or file. information (bits) stored on a device. They are so named as metaphor from the traditional office files, written on paper, since they would become their digital equivalent.

Each file has a unique identification or name, which can be modified or assigned at will by the user. Username or from the programmer, and an extension that determines what type of file it is and what functions it fulfills. Both terms of its name are usually separated by a period, for example: command.com

Inside the files are small packages of data expressed in bits (the smallest computer unit that exists) and that are arranged in registers or lines, being individually different but with some common feature. How this information is grouped depends on who makes the file, so there are numerous file structures, simpler and more complex, that are more or less standardized today.

These minimum units of operation and organization of a Operating system which are the files, then, they can be created, deleted, relocated, compressed, renamed and activated (run, in computer language), along with other basic organization operations.

What is a file for?

Files can have numerous functions. From simply containing information in an orderly manner, such as files text, and allow access to it by programs certain, to executable files that trigger a certain sequence of actions (and other files) that result in a certain action.

Since turning off the computer until starting a video game, everything that happens in a computer system happens through interconnected files running in turn in the computer's memory.

What is a folder?

All files necessarily exist within a folder.

The files of a traditional computer system are organized in folders (or directories) and subfolders (or subdirectories), as a way to categorize them and distinguish those that belong to an application or Program of those who belong to another. The folders are nothing more than labels to represent the compartments of the information.

This is what the organization system is all about. records: of a complex cataloging that at the same time allows a simple interface with the user, since the transit of some files between two supports (say: a HDD and a flash drive) can be as simple as telling the system to move them from the parent folder to the destination folder, without them undergoing any changes along the way or running the risk of getting lost.
All files necessarily exist within a folder.

General characteristics of a file

In general, the files of a computer system are:

  • representable. The files usually have a name of maximum 255 characters and are usually represented in graphical interface operating systems (such as Windows) by a certain icon.
  • Unique per directory. Two identical files with the same name cannot exist in the same folder or directory. When this happens, one of the two will have to change their name slightly or in any case one will be replaced by the other.
  • Modifiable.Except for those that have been expressly protected against modification, as is the case of the vital files of the computer system, which should not undergo changes because it would be destabilized, the common thing is that the files can be deleted, created, modified, renamed at will or need. .
  • They have a size. According to the amount of information that a file contains, it will have a size or "weight", measurable in Kb, Mb or even Gb. The larger the file, the more capacity the support must have where it is located.

File format

The way in which the information is encoded and ordered within the files is known as the format, and it responds to various existing standards. Depending on these formats, there will be compatibilities or incompatibilities when accessing said information, since it is a form of distribution that responds to a certain pattern.

This is due to the fact that there can only be bits inside the files on any medium, since computer systems must be able to convert this information into binary code (ones and zeros) in order to process it. Thus, each type of file can be stored in various possible formats.

file examples

Some typical examples of files are:

  • Text files. Usually identified with .doc, .txt, .rtf or .odt extensions, they contain sequences of alphanumeric characters arranged in specific sequences, which we call “documents”.
  • Executable files. Usually ending in .exe (executable, “executable” in English), .com (command, “command”) or .bat (batch, “batch”), are those that trigger actions, such as running an application or a video game.
  • Image files. Surnamed .jpg, .gif or .tiff normally, they are images whose recomposed information is translated into an image, illustration or Photography.
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