File attribute

Among the file attributes are understood variety of information about a computer file that does not belong directly to the actual contents of the file. Other names for file attributes are file attributes or file system metadata.

Virtually all operating systems have at least basic metadata about the location, right on the file etc. Some operating systems ( such as Mac OS) have a much richer metadata concept, and thus support, for example, the storage file type-specific information (eg, last cursor position for text files, information about copyright in music files, etc.). Since Windows and most Unix systems only provide but still a very limited set of metadata available, it is more and more about this, data of this type in the contents of the files to accommodate directly (example: ID3 tags in MP3 files).

Examples of metadata

  • Name of the file ( in file systems that support multiple names per file, such as NTFS, in other file systems include file names for contents of a directory, eg FAT)
  • Type of file (such as device files on Posix, Windows directories have an attribute that marks them as corresponding directory)
  • Type of file contents ( this can be controlled by a file extension as part of the name or a special memory area such as in HFS on Mac OS and Mac OS X)
  • Date and time if necessary the creation of the file content,
  • Creating the file ( This Copy Created, Creation under Windows ), is sometimes equated with the creation of the file content,
  • Last write time ( mtime on Posix, Windows LastWrite ) the file,
  • The change of file contents is sometimes equated with the last write access to the file because is not usually checked before a write access, whether it actually changes by the content,
  • The change in the metadata of the file ( on Posix ctime )
  • Last accessed (atime on Posix, Windows Last Access ) on the file under Windows, a metadata change how file attributes with this statement recorded
  • The last archive file (eg HFS, ZFS and UDF) and
  • Of decay of the file ( Expiration Date for z / OS)
  • File Management
Filename Filename extension z/OS File system permissions Filesystem permissions#Traditional Unix permissions Access Control List Hidden file and hidden directory ext2 Encrypting File System
219536
de