Files and folders

On a computer, information is stored on the hard drive as files. A folder (directory) used to collect files that are related in some way. In addition to files, a folder in turn contain other folders.

Tree structure

Files and folders form a tree structure. The tree starts at the root and each folder forms its own branch in the tree. The tree is usually depicted upside down with the root at the top as in this example with the root (1) at the top.

In the folder root (1) you find the files jacob (2) and monkey (3) and the folders buddies (4) and animals (7).

In the folder buddies (4) you find the files emily (5) and jacob (6).

In the folder animals (7) you find the files cat (8) and monkey (9).

Without the tree structure, all files would have to have a unique name. With the help of the tree structure, we can use the same name for different files as long as they are in different folders. The file jacob (2) located in the folder root (1) has the same name as the file jacob (6) located in the folder buddies (4). The files have the same name but are separate files. Similarly, the file monkey (3) which is located in the folder root (1) the same name as the file monkey (9) located in the folder animals (7).

Path

Each file has a unique path in the tree structure. The path starts at the root and for each folder (branch) the symbol \ is added. The folder animals (7) has the following path.

root\animals

The fill emily (5) has the following path.

root\buddies\emily

The file jacob (2) has the same name as the file jacob (6), but the files has unique paths. The file jacob (2) has the following path.

root\jacob

The file jacob (6) has the following path.

root\buddies\jacob