Timeline for When was the term ‘directory’ replaced by ‘folder’?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
20 events
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| Jan 19, 2023 at 21:34 | comment | added | ssokolow | @Raffzahn I'm saying that lines like "It may just be that you're nowadays more in contact with people who are non-techies" are harmfully misleading. Techies used to use "directory" for two concepts, one of which was the data structure and one of which was the unit of organization that non-techies talk about. You don't have to be in contact with more non-techies to see a shift. The answer could simply be that the original dual meaning of the term conflated the two concepts and, now, they've been misled by that conflation breaking. | |
| Jan 19, 2023 at 13:22 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @Schmuddi Well, wouldn't that make a great question? When creating MS-DOS 2.0 MS wanted it to be a bridge over to their Unix (Xenix), as that was seen as the future OS. Beside of adding sream interfaces, nested directories and other Unix orientated features they also added a virtual device directory called DEV. any device name known to MS-DOS could be used in DOS1.0 fashion (like CON:) or Unix like as \DEV\xxx (note, no colon needed). there was even a config flag (IIRC) to enforce that use, invalidating the old naming. | |
| Jan 19, 2023 at 13:18 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @ssokolow I seriously don't understand why you try so hard to imply something I never wrote. In fact I did state the very issue you claim I do not, that a folder today's user side view of what a directory on a media is. It still doesn't mean there was any change, especially not one made by any file system, as the Question assumes. | |
| Jan 19, 2023 at 12:45 | comment | added | Schmuddi | @Raffzahn: In a comment you mention "MS-DOS' \DEV 'directory'" as an example of a virtual directory. I wasn't aware that MS-DOS had such a directory – is it similar to e.g. CON and NUL? I'd like to read up on that, but given the ubiquitous use of "dev" as short for "developer", searching for something like "ms-dos dev directory" is kind of bound to be doomed. Do you have a useful starting point for me? | |
| Jan 19, 2023 at 12:42 | comment | added | ssokolow | @Raffzahn Well, if you're sticking to that last sentence after what I said, I think we've reached an impasse because, from my perspective, you're denying reality. Most users and most user documentation uses the term "folder" to refer to the unit of organization (as opposed to the underlying data structure), not "directory" and have for over a decade. | |
| Jan 18, 2023 at 10:04 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @ssokolow For one, the asks for a technical reason, which there isn't. Next, if switching from a driver seat to a passenger seat the car doesn't change. just the persons view. And last, when opening a command window in Windows, he's still working on directories, not folders, which proves that the assumed was no "replacement" never happened. | |
| Jan 18, 2023 at 5:06 | comment | added | ssokolow | @Raffzahn The replacement happened in the sense that there are effectively three separate concepts (the data structure, the visual metaphor, and the unit of organization) and the original poster observed the terminology for the unit of organization shifting from being drawn from the data structure to being drawn from the visual metaphor. It's unarguable that everyday users manipulated "directories" in the DOS era and "folders" in the Windows 9x era and beyond, even though they were manipulating the same "unit of organization". | |
| Jan 18, 2023 at 0:12 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @ssokolow Not sure what you want to point out. The question asks about technological reasons, which there are none. Also, Folder did not replace directory. It's all about the PoV taken - and the audience targeted. The assumed replacement never happened. Isn't it? | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 23:51 | comment | added | ssokolow | I don't think this is a very useful answer... or at least it focuses so much on only half the answer that it harms its ability to do that for lack of proper context. The question appears to be at least 50% an "in the minds of users" question, and "folder" very much did replace "directory" in mainstream usage and mainstream user-oriented documentation. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 18:14 | comment | added | dave | @TannerSwett's comment made me remember I had a hard time grasping the 'desktop metaphor' since I'd never actually owned a filing cabinet. (This was long after I was totally familiar with files, directories, volumes, etc.) Since I imagine that Young Persons Today don't use filing cabinets either, the whole 'folder' thing may be pointless. But then again we're dealing with systems where 'save' is represented by a picture of a floppy disk. Now get off my lawn! | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 14:05 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @TannerSwett the term for file is older than disks or directories, as stacks of punch cards were already called files. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 14:04 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @another-dave that is because it's a metaphor, not an implementation. Then again, not every directory in a file system may be a directory of it's own, or real, as there are things like likes and virtual directories (think linux' devfs, or MS-DOS' \DEV 'directory' ) | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 14:00 | history | edited | Toby Speight | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Spelling and grammar |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 13:57 | comment | added | Sophie Swett | Both "folder" and "file" are metaphorical names. A filesystem directory isn't literally a folder (a large folded sheet of paper for holding smaller pieces of paper), but it serves a purpose kind of similar to a folder, so it was named a "folder" metaphorically. And a delimited data unit isn't literally a file (a collection of papers that have been bundled together), but it serves a purpose kind of similar to a file, so it was named a "file" metaphorically. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 13:30 | comment | added | dave | Nit: they're not exactly the same. Some 'folders' are not 'directories' in Windows. There are cases of truly virtual folders manufactured by the desktop (Explorer or whatever), with no immediate counterpart in the file system. And trivially of course the term 'folder' is sometimes used for other non-file-system containers, e.g. a key in the Windows registry. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 13:18 | history | edited | Raffzahn | CC BY-SA 4.0 | added 627 characters in body |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 13:10 | comment | added | Raffzahn | @Steve Well, one can restrict the term 'document' to 'data file', but that's kind of moot as in the original GUI definition no other files were user visible. Prior to Apple the Idea was that a user would not see any 'program' but simply act on documents which he can organize in folders and drawers. Today's GUI are a hybrid of classic DOS like systems where users manipulate programs as well and pure GUI. | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 11:39 | comment | added | Steve | I've always been accustomed to think of the pair as "folders and files" in modern times. A "directory" is an older synonym for folder, whereas a "document" is only a specific kind of file (not a synonym for computer files generally, as there are many files that would not be regarded as documents). | |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 4:42 | history | edited | Raffzahn | CC BY-SA 4.0 | added 5 characters in body |
| Jan 17, 2023 at 4:33 | history | answered | Raffzahn | CC BY-SA 4.0 |