MS Technology Vocabulary Directory
Justin Vincent
January 2009
Computer 7-5
Directory
A directory is a list of files contained in external storage devices of the computer. It is part of the file system in the computer’s hard drive used for organization. It may include a huge number of files, but that depends on the storage capacity. Other names for it are folder, catalog, and drawer, but they are all parts of the same file system. When computers first came out, they used directories for organization, but now we usually refer to them as folders, although they are exactly the same. When there is a directory embedded inside another directory, it is referred to as a subdirectory when grouped with the directory it subsides in. These directories act as a tree structure, or hierarchy. Overall, a directory is a form of organization for files inside a file system.
