Quite often, many users come across the concept of a directory. Some, having heard the question: “What is a directory?”, Shrug their shoulders in dismay, although every person working with a computer comes across this every day. But let's look at the essence of the issue in more detail.
Computer terminology: a directory is ...
In general, the word "directory" has a lot of meanings. But, since in this case we are talking specifically about computer systems and technologies, we will proceed from this direction.
So, in the computer world, the meaning of the word "directory" is known to everyone and everyone, and the concept itself is interpreted as a "directory" or "folder". In other words, this is one of the fundamental components of the file system. Simply put, this is an element of a file organizing system .
File System and File Ordering Principles
A folder, directory or directory - the concepts are rather arbitrary. The fact is that physically this element is not present on the hard disk or any removable media, unlike even a file with a zero size. Thus, a directory is an element, so to speak, virtual. A folder in which there are no files does not occupy its own free disk space. If there is anything in it, the virtual amount of occupied disk memory completely coincides with the total size of all objects inside it. But for the existence of the directory, a special file without an extension is responsible for storing information about objects, their number, date of creation or change, size, etc.
Another thing is that the introduction of such an element made it possible to organize files according to some criteria. In other words, a folder as a file system allows you to group any number of files.
In real life, you can make a similar comparison. In fact, a directory is a virtual box in which the user puts the things he needs (in this case, files). So it turns out that the documents are not scattered throughout the hard drive (although physically the way it is), but are in strictly defined places. Such a clear ordering in minutes allows you to find the desired object. It goes without saying that folders have their own names.
The simplest example is the standard My Documents directory. It is clear that the user will search for his own files right here, because, as a rule, he does not put them in another place for convenience. In addition, Windows-systems, for example, initially offer the user specialized directories for storing information of a certain type ("My music", "My videos", etc.). Naturally, their use is not mandatory. On the other hand, if you use them, you will always know exactly where and what is located.
View folders in file managers
Folders themselves, in addition to containing an unlimited number of files, can also include subfolders nested according to the type of nested dolls. It turns out a sort of hierarchical structure, which is usually called when displaying a tree.
In the simplest example, you can consider the standard "Explorer", although in other similar programs the appearance of folders can vary significantly. Take the same Windows Commander. But now is not about that.
Actually, here you can change the display options of folders (and files), for example, view them in the form of a list, a table with additional parameters, tiles or large icons. In addition, the icon can be changed for any folder if viewing is not based on the type of list or table.
This simplifies matters even further. Suppose a user sets a music note icon for the Music folder. Even without paying attention to the name, he immediately sees that it is music, and not something else.
Another plus is that when displaying folders with subfolders in the form of large icons, the directory can be displayed in the form of a partially opened book, which instead of pages will contain screenshots (if it is graphics and video) or even page layouts of files in subdirectories.
Showing Hidden Objects
It goes without saying that some folders are hidden from the user's eyes, especially system directories. By default on Windows, this is done for security reasons. So that the user does not delete important files that are responsible for the functioning of the system.
To view such objects, it is enough to use the view menu, where the option to display hidden files and folders should be used.
Simple folder operations
Actually, with directories, you can perform almost all actions related to files, with the exception of editing in the usual sense. You can copy, delete, move, rename, create icons, etc.
Creating directories is also not difficult. For example, in the same "Explorer" it is enough to right-click on an empty area of the working area and call the appropriate command. After that, a new directory will be created with the name "New Folder" by default. Naturally, this is not the only way. You can use the main menu commands, special panel buttons, or the standard combination Ctrl + Shift + N. In general, there are methods for different file managers.
Site directories
With the concept of "site directory" the situation is somewhat more complicated, although the principle of understanding the essence is almost the same. The fact is that in this case, the directory means the root directory in which all the elements of the website being created or created will be stored, for example, in HTML.
First of all, the Index.html file (the main page) must be in the root directory, the Content (for pages) and Images (for pictures) folders are also uploaded there. However, it is not necessary to use just such names. They can be designated as you like - for example, give names by category, which will be placed materials on a specific topic. True, this will increase the root directory itself, but in some cases it is due to this that you can reduce the path to the pages themselves.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the foregoing, a directory is a kind of container or, if you want, a box in which the necessary content is placed. And this directory is one of the fundamental elements that allow you to clearly organize the file structure.