File size

File size measures the size of a computer file. Typically it is measured in bytes or bits. The actual amount of disk space consumed by the file depends on the file system. The maximum file size a file system supports depends on the number of bits reserved to store size information and the total size of the file system.

Binary prefixes for powers of 2¹⁰ (1024) and decimal prefixs for powers of 10³ (1000) are both in use. The International System of Quantities also allows unambiguous binary prefixes using different names based on an IEC standard, e.g., kibibyte KiB, mebibyte MiB. The traditional KB is usually binary, meaning 1024 bytes, while the corresponding decimal kB for 1000 bytes uses a lower case k for kilo.

With typical disk sector sizes of 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096 bytes decimal prefixes and/or bits are less suited to describe file systems accurately, e.g., the maximal file size on FAT32 is 4 GB−1 B for a binary prefix of bytes, corresponding to 4×1024×1024×1024−1; decimal 4,294,967,295; hexadecimal FFFFFFFF; or binary 11111111111111111111111111111111 in 32 bits.

File

File or filing may refer to:

Services

Information

Computing

Other uses

See also

Glossary of chess

This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of chess-related games, see Chess variants.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

[adjective: prophylactic] Prophylactic techniques include the blockade, overprotection, and the mysterious rook move.

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Z

References

Bibliography

Computer file

A computer file is a resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is "durable" in the sense that it remains available for other programs to use after the program that created it has finished executing. Computer files can be considered as the modern counterpart of paper documents which traditionally are kept in office and library files, and this is the source of the term.

Etymology

The word "file" was used publicly in the context of computer storage as early as February, 1950. In an RCA (Radio Corporation of America) advertisement in Popular Science Magazine describing a new "memory" vacuum tube it had developed, RCA stated:

In 1952, "file" was used in referring to information stored on punched cards.

In early usage, people regarded the underlying hardware (rather than the contents) as a file. For example, the IBM 350 disk drives were called "disk files". In about 1961 the Burroughs MCP and the MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System introduced the concept of a "file system", which managed several virtual "files" on one storage device, giving the term its present-day meaning. Although the current term "register file" shows the early concept of files, it has largely disappeared.