You are browsing archives for
A file manager does pretty much exactly what its name suggests; it allows you to manage files and folders from a graphical interface.
You can create, open, edit, view, play, move, copy, delete, rename, organize and otherwise manipulate files and folders to do your bidding, making use of a file manager.
In fact, you probably already use one every day, if you have any files at all. If not, you’re missing out. (Or maybe you always use the command line?)
How do you know where to find files on your computer?
How, for that matter, does your computer know where to find files?
After learning file system fundamentals, the next step is to learn the directory structure of each file system.
The directory structure is the way that directories (also called “folders”) are organized.
By understanding the basics of your operating system’s directory structure, not only will you be able to avoid causing problems, but you should also be able to stay organized more easily.
A computer, contrary to popular opinion, does not actually have a mind of its own.
It is an entity devoted entirely to following the instructions that it is given, whether they be perfect or flawed. (Hint: It’s usually the flawed instructions — or faulty hardware — that lead us to believe that computers are sentient and out to get us.)
As you may imagine, it takes quite a few instructions, all put together, for a computer to function. The more functions it can perform, the more instructions are necessary. By the time you have an operating system installed with a few programs running on it — well, that’s quite a few instructions right there already.
Have you ever wondered how your computer knows where to find all of the instructions that it needs to be able to function? Maybe stop and think about that the next time it takes an extra millisecond for a program to load. It could be much worse!
All of that instructional data is stored somewhere, otherwise it would be lost from memory the first time the computer is turned off.
How is all of that data saved, so that it can be quickly found again when it’s needed?
Today’s subject is, by popular demand, a continuation of last week’s introduction to the command line.
The conversation that I’m calling “popular demand” went something like this:
Mom: You left me hanging! That’s the first time I’ve ever brought the command post up in my life, and now I don’t know what to do with it!
Me: …do you mean the command prompt?
Mom: Yes! That’s what I mean!
So now that you have your command line open (or know how to re-open it), let’s make use of it.