> "Directory" was indeed the original term, but it is a metaphorical term > that doesn't work in the context of the desktop metaphor. While the > implementation of file systems is more like a directory - a list that > refers to other object (files) - it operates more like a folder - > destroy the directory and the files are lost, a file can be in only one > directory, etc. (Links were created to overcome this limitation.) I find > I use both terms depending on the context and who I'm talking too, > directory when referring to file systems with techies, and folder otherwise.
I find that there actually is a tangible difference between the desktop abstraction of a "folder" and one of several possible back-end implementations for a folder, i.e. a directory in the file system. For example, MacOSX has localized folder names like "Schreibtisch" that map to directory names like "Desktop". You can even enable and disable that behavior. BTW it really confuses novice shell users... Regards -- Volker -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Volker A. Brandt Consulting and Support for Sun Solaris Brandt & Brandt Computer GmbH WWW: http://www.bb-c.de/ Am Wiesenpfad 6, 53340 Meckenheim Email: vab at bb-c.de Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Bonn, HRB 10513 Schuhgr??e: 45 Gesch?ftsf?hrer: Rainer J. H. Brandt und Volker A. Brandt
