File Management 2025
TOPIC: FILE MANAGEMENT
Sub-Topics:
i) File management activities supported by operating systems
ii) Attributes of a computer file
iii) File security
iv) File Systems
v) File Extensions
vi) File organization methods
What is a file as used in Operating systems?
(i) File is collection of specific information stored in the memory of a computer
system.
(ii) A file is a named collection of related information that is recorded on secondary
storage such as magnetic disks, magnetic tapes and optical disks.
(iii) A file is a sequence of bits, bytes, lines or records whose meaning is defined by
the files creator and user.
(iv) A file is an entity of data available to system users, the system itself and its
application programs that is capable of being manipulated as an entity for
example, moved from one file directory to another
(v) A file can be defined as a data structure which stores the sequence of records.
Files are stored in a file system, which may exist on a disk or in the main memory.
Files can be simple (plain text) or complex (specially-formatted).The collection of
files is known as Directory. The collection of directories at the different levels is
known as File System.
What is file management as used in Operating systems? –
(i) File management is defined as the process of manipulating files in computer system, it
management includes the process of creating, modifying and deleting the files.
(ii) Computer file management refers to the manipulation of documents and data in files
on a computer.
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Tasks performed by File management OS component
1. It helps to create new files in computer system and placing them at the specific
locations
2. It helps in easily and quickly locating these files in computer system.
3. It makes the process of sharing of the files among different users very easy and user
friendly.
4. It helps to stores the files in separate folders known as directories. These directories
help users to search file quickly or to manage the files according to their types or uses.
5. It helps the user to modify the data of files or to modify the name of the file in the
directories.
The general hierarchy of the storage in an operating system
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Explanation:
The root directory is present at the highest level in the hierarchical structure. It includes all
the subdirectories in which the files are stored. Subdirectory is a directory present inside
another directory in the file storage system. The directory base storage system ensures better
organization of files in the memory of the computer system.
The file management function in operating system (OS) is based on the following concepts:-
1. File Attributes: - It specifies the characteristics of the files such as type, date of last
modification; size, location on disk etc. file attributes help the user to understand the
value and location of files. File attributes is one most important feature. It is uses to
describe all the information regarding particular file.
2. File Operation: - It specifies the task that can be performed on a file such as opening
and closing of file.
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3. File Access permission: - It specifies the access permissions related to a file such as
read and write.
4. File Systems: - It specifies the logical method of file storage in a computer system.
Some of the commonly used files systems include FAT and NTFS.
File Operations supported by operating systems
There are various operations which can be implemented on a file. These operations include:-
(i) Create:-Creation of the file is the most important operation on the file. Different
types of files are created by different methods for example text editors are used to
create a text file, word processors are used to create a word file and Image editors
are used to create the image files.
(ii) Write: - Writing the file is different from creating the file. The OS maintains a
write pointer for every file which points to the position in the file from which, the
data needs to be written.
(iii) Read: - Every file is opened in three different modes: -Read, Write and append. A
Read pointer is maintained by the OS, pointing to the position up to which, the
data has been read.
(iv) Re-position:- Re-positioning is simply moving the file pointers forward or
backward depending upon the user's requirement. It is also called as seeking.
(v) Delete: - Deleting the file will not only delete all the data stored inside the file, It
also deletes all the attributes of the file. The space which is allocated to the file
will now become available and can be allocated to the other files.
(vi) Truncate: - Truncating is simply deleting the file except deleting attributes. The
file is not completely deleted although the information stored inside the file gets
replaced.
Attributes of a Computer File
(i) Name: Every file carries a name by which the file is recognized in the file system.
One directory cannot have two files with the same name.
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(ii) Identifier: - Along with the name, Each File has its own extension which identifies the
type of the file. For example, a text file has the extension .txt, A video file can have
the extension .mp4.
(iii)Type: - In a File System, the Files are classified in different types such as video files,
audio files, text files, executable files, etc.
(iv) Location: - In the File System, there are several locations on which, the files can be
stored. Each file carries its location as its attribute.
(v) Size: - The Size of the File is one of its most important attribute. By size of the file,
we mean the number of bytes acquired by the file in the memory.
(vi) Protection: - The Admin of the computer may want the different protections for the
different files. Therefore each file carries its own set of permissions to the different
group of Users.
(vii) Time and Date:-Every file carries a time stamp which contains the time and
date on which the file is last modified.
File Security: - A file may either be private to a particular user or public to all users
therefore, any operating system has to: -
i) prevent illegal access to the files
ii) prevent accidental damage to the files
iii) prevent data loss or corruption
iv) provide safety from hardware or software malfunctions
Ways of securing files: - The methods used to safeguard files include:-
a) Data encryption: Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, called a cipher text,
which cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people. Decryption is the process of
converting encrypted data back into its original form, so that it can be understood.
b) File back-up: a file backup refers to a duplicate copy of the user original file.
c) Memory Partitioning: - the operating system allocates specific programs to specific
memory locations. The operating system also controls access to those files and ensures
that they are not overwritten by other files.
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d) Use of passwords: A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for
authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource. The password should be kept
secret from those not allowed access.
Disadvantages of passwords
i) Users can forget their passwords easily making it impossible for them to access their files
ii) It’s easy to guess some passwords hence unauthorized users can guess passwords easily.
iii) Authorized users may intentionally or accidentally tell the unauthorized users their
passwords
iv) Unauthorized users may easily observe somebody else keying in his/her password
e) Assigning appropriate file access rights to different users. Examples of file access
rights include:
i) Read: permits a user to read information contained in the file.
ii) Write: allows a user to write new information into a file or overwrite existing information
in a file.
iii) Append: allows the user to write new information at the end of a file
iv) Delete: permits computer user to delete a file and release its storage space for use by other
files.
v) Execute: the user is able to load contents of a file into main memory and create a process
to execute it.
vi) List: the user is able to read the names contained in a directory.
vii) Change access: permits a user to change some user’s access rights from a controlled
operation.
File Extensions
A file extension, also called a filename extension, is the suffix at the end of a filename, which
indicates what kind of file it is. When you double-click a file, your computer uses the file's
extension to determine what program should open it.
Examples of File Extensions
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File Extension Description
.EXE An executable file
.HTML An HTML webpage file.
.C A C language file
.CPP A C++ file
.ACCDB A MS access database file
.JAVA A Java file
.XLSX MS Excel worksheet
.PPTX A Microsoft PowerPoint presentation file
.DOC Microsoft word document
.DOCX Microsoft word document (higher versions
of MS Office)
.TXT A text file
.PDF An Portable Document Format file
.PPS PowerPoint Slide Show
.PPT PowerPoint Presentation
.BAK Backup File
.TMP Temporary File
.ZIP A zipped (compressed) file
.C A C programming language file
Image File Extensions: -Image file formats are standardized means of organizing and
storing digital images. Examples of image file extensions include:-
.TIFF Tagged Image File.
A TIF is a large raster file that doesn't lose
quality. This file type is known for using
"lossless compression," meaning the
original image data is maintained regardless
of how often you might copy, re-save, or
compress the original file.
However, you should avoid using this file
type on the web -- it can take forever to
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load. TIFF files are also commonly used
when saving photographs for print.
.JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group file
format.
JPEG is the most common file type you run
across on the web, and also used to create
company’s MS Word version of its
letterheads.
JPEGs are known for their "lossy"
compression, meaning that the quality of
the image decreases as the file size
decreases.
.PNG Portable Network Graphics file format.
PNG is amazing for interactive documents
such as web pages, but are not suitable for
print.
.GIF Graphics Interchange Format file format.
GIFs are most common in their animated
form usually used for banner ads.
.PSD Photoshop Document files i.e. files that are
created and saved in Adobe Photoshop.
Guidelines for Naming a computer file
Rule One: - Keep file names short and meaningful: - File names should be kept as short as
possible whilst also being meaningful. Long file names mean long file paths which increase
the likelihood of error and are more difficult to remember and recognize.
Rule Two: - Avoid unnecessary repetition and redundancy in file names and file paths:-
Unnecessary repetition increases the length of file names and file paths which is incompatible
with rule 1.
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Rule Three: - Use capital letters to delimit words, not spaces or underscores: - Avoid
using spaces and underscores in file names. Some software packages have difficulty
recognizing file names with spaces. Using underscores and hyphens in your file names
increases the length, which is incompatible with rule 1.
Rule Four: - When including a number in a file name always give it as a two-digit
number unless it is a year or another number with more than two digits:- The file
directory displays file names in alphanumeric order. To maintain the numeric order when file
names include numbers it is important to include the zero for numbers 0-9. This helps to
retrieve the latest record number.
Rule Five: - Dates should always follow same format: YYYYMMDD e.g. 20190924
Rule Six:- Avoid using common words such as ‘draft’ or ‘letter’ at the start of file
names:- Avoid using common words such as ‘draft’ or ‘letter’ at the start of file names, or all
of those records will appear together in the file directory, making it more difficult to retrieve
the records you are looking for.
Rule Seven: - Order the elements in a file name in the most appropriate way to retrieve
the record: - The elements to be included in a file name should be ordered according to the
way in which the record will be retrieved during the course of everyday business.
This will depend on the way you work. For example, if the records are retrieved according to
their date, the date element should appear first. If the records are retrieved according to their
description, the description element should appear first.
The file names of records relating to recurring events should include the date and a
description of the event, except where the inclusion of either of these elements would be
incompatible with rule 2.
The file names of records relating to recurring events (e.g. meeting minutes and papers,
weekly, monthly or annual reports, event management and budget planning documents)
should include both the date and the event name or event description so that the record can be
identified and retrieved.
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Rule Eight: - Avoid using non-alphanumeric characters in file names:- Different
operating systems (e.g. Linux, OS X, Windows) have different file name requirements, in
particular different characters that they do not recognize in file names.
The use of these characters can cause problems. Even if your operating system allows you to
save the file you may encounter difficulties if you try to transport the file to another operating
system, for example the file may not be recognized, or if you send it to someone else they
may not be able to open it. It is therefore recommended that you avoid the use of non-
alphanumeric characters in file names.
Rule Nine: Avoid unnecessary repetition and redundancy in file names and paths
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