Files (space)

Files (space)

Copyright(c) Management Analytics, 1995 - All Rights Reserved

Copyright(c), 1990, 1995 Dr. Frederick B. Cohen - All Rights Reserved

Files come in four types (Regular, Character-Special, Block-Special, and Directory) and are used to model storage and peripheral devices. The file types are used as follows:

A few examples may help to understand how these types of files are used. Memory, for example, is modeled by several Character-Special files which allow user memory, kernel memory, or physical memory to be accessed. Physical disks are represented by Block-Special files, while the files stored on those physical disks are represented by Regular files, and grouped under Directory files. Most sequential peripherals, like terminals, tape drives, and parallel ports, are represented as Character-Special files. DMA devices like network interfaces and external disks, are typically represented as Block-Special files.

The Directory files are normally used to form a tree structured logical file-structure, with the ``/'' (root) directory as the root of the file tree.