CONCEPT OF FILE

MANAGEMENT
 File management is defined as the process of
manipulating files in computer system, it’s management
includes the process of creating, modifying and deleting
the files. File management is one of the basic and
important features of operating system. Operating
system is used to manage files of computer system. All
the files with different extensions are managed by
operating system.
WHAT IS A FILE?
Before the advent of computers the term file system was used to
describe a method of storing and retrieving paper documents. By 1961
the term was being applied to computerized filing alongside the
original meaning. By 1964 it was in general use.

A file is collection of specific

information stored in the
memory of computer system.,
a file is a sequence of bits,
bytes, or records whose
meaning is defined by the file
creator and user. Every File has
a logical location where they
are located for storage and
retrieval..
 Properties of a File System

Files are stored on disk

or other storage and
do not disappear when
a user logs off.
Files have names
and are associated
with access permission that
permits controlled sharing.
Files could be arranged
or more complex
structures to reflect the
relationship between them.
 File Name
A filename (or file name) is used to identify a
storage location in the file system. Most file systems
have restrictions on the length of filenames. In some
file systems, filenames are not case sensitive(i.e., the
names MYFILE and myfile refer to the same file in a
directory); in others, filenames are case sensitive (i.e.,
the names MYFILE, MyFile , and myfile refer to three
separate files that are in the same directory).
File naming convention:Simple Key Rules
 1. Keep file names short, meaningful and easily understandable to others.
 2. Order the elements in a file name in the most appropriate way to retrieve the record.
 3. Avoid unnecessary repetition and redundancy in file names and paths
 4. Avoid obscure abbreviations and acronyms. Use agreed University abbreviations and codes where
relevant.
 5. Avoid vague, unhelpful terms such as “miscellaneous” or “general” or “my files”
 6. Use capital letters to delimit words, as the preferred option, although underscores (_) or hyphens
(-) may add clarity, they make the file name longer.
 7. For numbers 0-9, always use a minimum of two digit numbers to ensure correct numerical order
(e.g. 01, 02, 03 etc.)
 8. Dates should always follow same format: YYYYMMDD e.g. 20170425
 9. When including a personal name give the family name first followed by initials, with no comma in
between e.g. SmithAB
 10. Avoid using common words such as ‘draft’ or ‘letter’ at the start of file names unless doing so will
make it easier to retrieve the record.
 11. Use alphanumeric characters i.e. letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9). Avoid using invalid characters in
file names such as *? \ / : # % ~ { }
 12. The file names of records relating to recurring events should include the date and a description of
the event, except where the inclusion of these elements would be incompatible with rule 3.
 13. The version number of a record should be indicated in its file name by the inclusion of ‘V’
followed by the version number (e.g. V01, V03 etc.). However versioning is enabled automatically in
systems such as Office 365 and One Drive for Business, making it unnecessary to duplicate this
information in the file name itself.
 1. Keep file names short and meaningful

2. Avoid unnecessary repetition and redundancy in file names and file paths
3. Use capital letters to delimit words, not spaces or underscores

4. 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
 5. If using a date in the file name always state the date ‘back to front’, and use four digit years, two digit months and two digit
days: YYYYMMDD or YYYYMM or YYYY or YYYY-YYYY

6. When including a personal name in a file name give the family name first followed
by the initials
7. Avoid using common words such as ‘draft’ or ‘letter’ at the start of file names

8. Order the elements in a file name in the most appropriate way to retrieve the
record
9. 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.

10. The version number of a record should be indicated in its file name by the
inclusion of ‘V’ followed the version number and, where applicable, ‘Draft’ or ‘Final’.
 11. Avoid using non-alphanumeric characters 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 Avoid: * : \ / < > | " ? [ ] ; = + & £ $ , . However, hyphens (-) may be used .
The file management of function in operating
system (OS) is based on the following concepts:
File structure
A File Structure needs to be predefined format in such a way that an operating system understands . It
has an exclusively defined structure, which is based on its type.
Heirarchical file structures can add additional organization to your files. As with file naming use
whatever makes most sense for your data.
File Attributes
A file has a name and data. Moreover, it also stores meta information like file creation date and time,
current size, last modified date, etc. All this information is called the attributes of a file system.
File Type
It refers to the ability of the operating system to differentiate various types of files like text files, binary,
and source files. However, Operating systems like MS_DOS and UNIX has the following type of files:
Functions of File
Create file, find space on disk, and make an entry in the directory.
Write to file, requires positioning within the file
Read from file involves positioning within the file
Delete directory entry, regain disk space.
Reposition: move read/write position.
File structure

G7MODULES
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SUMMATIVE_TEST
FILE ATTRIBUTES
File types- name, extension
Directory
File systems typically have directories (also
called folders) which allow the user to group files into
separate collections. This may be implemented by
associating the file name with an index in a table of
contents or an inode in a Unix-like file system. Directory
structures may be flat (i.e. linear), or allow hierarchies
where directories may contain subdirectories. The first
file system to support arbitrary hierarchies of directories
was used in the Multics operating system.
 GRADE 7
FILES
ECLASS
SUMMATIVE
RECORD(6 GRADE 7 TEST
SECTIONS) MODULE
S

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Q(1-4) Q2
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Q1

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