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KembaraXtra-Computer Science- Filesystems
1. Storage Devices & Partitions
1. Storage Devices & Partitions
- Secondary Storage: Devices like HDDs and SSDs used for persistent data storage (data remains even when the power is off).
- Partitions: Storage devices are divided into regions called partitions.
- Filesystems: Operating systems use filesystems to organize data on storage devices into files and directories. A partition must be formatted with a particular filesystem before it can be used by the operating system.
- Formatting: Preparing a partition with a specific filesystem.
- Filesystem Examples:
- Linux: ext2, ext3, ext4 (ext family)
- Windows: FAT (File Allocation Table), NTFS (NT File System)
- Volumes: Some OSes use "volumes" as a logical abstraction built on one or more partitions. Filesystems reside on volumes in this case.
- File: A container for data. The structure of the data is defined by the program that created the file.
- Directory (Folder): A container for files and other directories.
- Unix-like Systems (e.g., Linux):
- Unified Hierarchy: A single, tree-like structure of directories.
- Root Directory: The top-level directory, represented by /. All other directories are descendants of the root.
- Example: /usr/lib (lib is a subdirectory of usr, which is a subdirectory of root)
- Mounting: Attaching an additional storage device to a location in the directory structure (e.g., a USB drive mounted to /mnt/usb1).
- Microsoft Windows:
- Drive Letters: Each volume is assigned a drive letter (A-Z).
- Separate Hierarchies: Each drive has its own root and directory structure.
- Directory Paths: Use backslashes (\) in directory paths and a colon (:) after a drive letter.
- Example: C:\windows\system32
- Historical Context: Drive letters A and B were initially reserved for floppy disks. C is typically the drive for the Windows installation.
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