 | | A filesystem is the set of data types, data structures, and system calls used by an operating system to store data onto one or more disk drives. The simplest form of a filesystem, called a flat filesystem, is analogous to the “cardboard box” filing system used by some people to keep track of their bills for tax purposes. In the cardboard box method, each bill is simply tossed into a box, with more recent additions being placed on top of earlier ones. There is no sense of order within the box; mortgage bills, credit card bills, and utility bills are all intermixed in a random fashion. The only way to impose any type of order is to use multiple boxes: one for mortgage bills, one for credit card bills, and one for utility bills. A flat filesystem treats the disk like a cardboard box. Each file created in the filesystem is like a bill—it is simply created in an empty place on the disk, with no particular organization. Listing all the files is like dumping the cardboard box on the floor: system files, homework files, correspondence files, program files, and so forth are all mixed together. The only way to impose any type of order on a flat filesystem is to use multiple disks: one for system files, one for homework files, one for correspondence files, and so on. | |
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