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Operating System Concepts, Seventh Edition
book

Operating System Concepts, Seventh Edition

by Peter Baer Galvin, Abraham Silberschatz, Greg Gagne
December 2004
Intermediate to advanced
921 pages
30h 34m
English
Wiley
Content preview from Operating System Concepts, Seventh Edition

Chapter 10. File-System Interface

For most users, the file system is the most visible aspect of an operating system. It provides the mechanism for on-line storage of and access to both data and programs of the operating system and all the users of the computer system. The file system consists of two distinct parts: a collection of files, each storing related data, and a directory structure, which organizes and provides information about all the files in the system. File systems live on devices, which we explore fully in the following chapters but touch upon here. In this chapter, we consider the various aspects of files and the major directory structures. We also discuss the semantics of sharing files among multiple processes, users, and computers. Finally, we discuss ways to handle file protection, necessary when we have multiple users and we want to control who may access files and how files may be accessed.

File Concept

Computers can store information on various storage media, such as magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, and optical disks. So that the computer system will be convenient to use, the operating system provides a uniform logical view of information storage. The operating system abstracts from the physical properties of its ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780471694663Purchase book