A file is a collection of data in a certain format stored on a diskette. Most file names have a prefix and a suffix. The prefix is by convention a name that describes the contents of the document. The suffix indicates the format of the data. For example, resume.doc is a good name for a file that contains a person's resume in the Microsoft Word format. (Applications will provide you with the suggested suffix.) Caveat: Depending on the application you are using you may have to limit the length of your file name to eight prefix characters and three suffix characters.
Most computers have two disk drives, the local internal hard drive and a 3½ inch floppy disk drive. (History note: The first disk drives to accept removable diskettes took 5¼ inch flexible or "floppy" diskettes. Todays 3½ inch diskettes aren't flexible unless you apply a lot of torque, but the name "floppy disk drive" is still used.) It's important to be aware on what disk drive the file is being saved. For example, let's say you just finished entering a short story into a word processing program running on a computer at a public lab. If you save your work to the local hard drive it may or may not be there when you return the next day. Worse yet, it may reappear someday under someone else's name! If you are using public computers you will want to save your work on removable 3½ inch diskettes. Even if you have a computer for your exclusive use, you will want to save your work periodically on some type of removable media such as diskette.
Copyright 1997 by the Curators of the University of Missouri