Directory is a word that can be used in many real-life contexts and can mean different things. In a digital context, what is a directory? Why is everyone talking about it? What are its functions?
In this article, I’ll tell you all about directories in the computer world, so you can avoid confusion and understand their meaning when you need it.
With the information age and the new discoveries brought about by the internet, new terms and expressions began to emerge to describe certain computer activities. The language of the internet world may sound somewhat complicated and even cause confusion if you’re just starting out in the web development world.
When we talk about websites and their structure, we often see instructions about directories and hierarchies. But, after all, what are directories in computing and on websites?
What is a directory in computing?
The root directory , also known as the root folder, is the “topmost” directory in the folder or partition hierarchy. It’s where all of your website’s information is stored, enabling it to be online and displayed the way you want.
To better understand what a directory is in the computer world, it’s the beginning or start of a folder structure. The root directory contains files and all other folders on the drive.
You can imagine this as an organizational chart, where europe cell phone number list the initial top point is the root folder, and the subfolders follow in the lower hierarchies. The top point holds all the lower elements together.
You can imagine this as an upside-down tree with the roots (the root folder) at the top and the branches (subfolders) below; the root is what holds all the lower elements together.
For example, your website’s root directory is likely public.html . In some cases, you might find it named htdocs, www , or wwwroot , depending on your web hosting and configuration.
This directory is the public access base for a website. It contains the index files ( index.php, index.html, default.html, etc. ). The root directory is the folder that contains the information accessed when accessing a given website’s domain.
So, if you have a website accessed through the address www.perezcalzados.com with an index.html file in the document root, the browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla, Firefox, and others) will access this directory to display your website.
What is the difference between directory and folder?
It’s common for some people to confuse folders and directories. The truth is that in many cases, a folder doesn’t necessarily represent a directory.
For example, if we want to organize our files and documents, we create folders to separate them by topic, date, type, etc. Directories, on the other hand, represent a hierarchical order of files and folders, and if any improper changes are made, the program or system in question may stop working or may experience problems.
How do directories work in computing?
Directories in computing aren’t just related to website folders. You can find directories in the various tools you use every day, such as the folders on your computer.
So let’s say you’re working on a document in mobile is the now and the future Microsoft Word and you encounter a problem running the program.
To resolve your issue, the troubleshooting guide tells you to go to the root folder of your Microsoft Word installation; then you need to find the main folder that contains all of the program’s files.
In this case, you would have to access the root folder by following this path:
“C:\Program Files\MicrosoftWord\”. In this example, “C:\Program Files\” also contains many folders for other programs; so the root folder for Microsoft Word, specifically, would be the folder: “\Microsoft\” . This means that the root folder for all the program files on your computer would be the folder “C:\Program Files\” .
How does a directory work on web pages?
On websites, when created using a CMS, such as WordPress, the platform itself is responsible for creating the directory structure and hierarchy.
The directory structure of a website consists of a main or root directory. Within this directory are subdirectories.
These files cannot be accessed via a URL or internet address. You can only access them through the web application, programming, server-side code , or through cPanel, which is available with your Web Hosting plan.
The initial structure of a website is very basic japan data and simple. Its directory tree contains folders containing function files, code, and other folders containing your website’s content, such as images, text, videos, etc.
It’s very important to keep in mind that your website’s directory structure may change over time, depending on the need for growth.
Let’s say you’re a photographer and you have a website with your portfolio of work.
At first, you have a few photos and can easily organize them in an image folder. But as you add more photos, you’ll realize the need to organize them into categories.
Can the order of directories be changed?
As we mentioned earlier, any changes to the directory structure can directly affect your website, even rendering it inaccessible.
If you want to change the order of directories and folders, don’t forget to change the corresponding links on your website pages, as these might appear unavailable.
Remember, it’s good practice to keep all non-public files out of the document root.
But what does it mean to keep files outside the document root? Keeping these files above the root means they can’t be publicly accessed via a URL or web address (unless you create a specific script for this). This will ensure the security of your website.