Where a File Lives: Folders, Names and Backups
Files sit inside folders inside other folders, and the path is the address that says which one. A name that describes the work, a place that makes sense and a second copy elsewhere are what make work findable later.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read a path and say which folder a file is in and what that folder is inside
- Move a file and copy a file, and say what is different about the result
- Say what the extension tells the machine, and what having only one copy risks
1 · Read
Every file lives at an address called a path. The path lists each folder you pass. Folders sit inside folders, like boxes in boxes. Read the path to find your work.
Copying makes a twin. The first file stays put. A new twin lands in the new place. Moving takes it away. After a move it lives in one place only.
The tail of a name is the extension. A .jpg file is a picture. A .bat file lists jobs to run. The tail tells the machine which app should open it.
Name your work for what it is. Keep it in a folder that fits. Hold a second copy in another place. Two copies in two places beats one.
Read the path, name things well, and keep a second copy elsewhere.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.