Root directory

The root directory is the root folder or the root ( in technical language engl. Called root) is the top-level directory of a data structure, usually that of a tree. The most prominent example of a tree in the field of computer science is usually found in the form of file systems on disks. Per system, or sometimes per disk, do I find a directory that is not contained in another directory. This output directory is called the root directory because this directory is the root for the entire directory tree - it thus forms the head of each directory structure. In the directory tree, the root is shown above in each case.

Which and how many root directories are available on a system depend entirely on the operating system. On Microsoft Windows, and similar operating systems, each partition has ( on partitioned data stores ) or any drive root directory (also: root). To distinguish the main directories to the directory name is a letter followed by a colon, precede (eg C :). As a symbol for the root directory of the backslash "\" will be used. Under Unix-like operating systems there is only one main directory in the system. ( The symbol for this root directory is the forward slash "/". ) The use of letters to distinguish between main directories can be dispensed with.

According to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard also the user's home directory is root called root. It is located in the root directory ( / root ).

• File system