

Usage can be tracked down to the year 1952, when punch cards where used.Ī programming language without the capability to store and retrieve previously stored information would be hardly useful.

The term "file" - as we have described it in the previous paragraph - appeared in the history of computers very early. A unique name and path is used by human users or in programs or scripts to access a file for reading and modification purposes. Usually a file is kept on a permanent storage media, e.g. Though everybody has an understanding of the term file, we present a formal definition anyway:Ī file or a computer file is a chunk of logically related data or information which can be used by computer programs. The term file management in the context of computers refers to the manipulation of data in a file or files and documents on a computer.

it can be used by other programs after the program which has created or manipulated it, has terminated. Durable means that the data is persistent, i.e. Usually, a file resides on a durable storage. It is a collection of information, which can be accessed and used by a computer program. A file on a computer is the modern counterpart of this. There may be people who don't know anymore the "container", like a cabinet or a folder, for keeping papers archived in a convenient order. When we say file, we mean of course, a file on a computer. It's hard to find anyone in the 21st century, who doesn't know what a file is.
