Computer file
A computer file is a means to store information that belongs together. Computer files can be opened (read and written) by computer programs. Usually they are stored on some kind of file system.
There are different kinds of computer files that hold different kinds of data (information):
- Text files
- Audio files (e.g. for songs, voice recordings)
- Video files (e.g. for movies)
- Images (pictures)
- Other binary data
The way the information is organized in a file is called the file format.
Computer File Media
Box of w:Punched cards from 1970s. This is a picture I took of a box of computer programs in punched card form from the early 1970s. The deck in the middle shows what a program deck looked like after extensive editing and debugging. The cardboard box was originally used to ship blank cards and held 2000 cards.
The twin disk files of an IBM 305 system
Files and folders arranged in a hierarchy
