1. Volatile vs Non-volatile
Volatile memory : needs constant power to retain data
- RAM for primary storage. Fast – supports CPU/FPU/GPU/TPU calcs
- all the information lost. Once you unplug it, the memory will be lost. If you don't save, you'll lose everything
Non-volatile memory : stores data persistently without power
- ROM
- unless you delete it, there're always there.
ex)HDD, ps4, SSD card, bios, USB
- Many types of secondary or mass storage. Slowly transferred to RAM
| RAM Random Access Memory |
CPU central processing unit (or processor) |
FPU Floating Poing Unit |
GPU graphics processing unit (or graphics card) |
| Runs your computer : general workhorse Capable of many different operations and memory transfers |
Runs your graphics : video rendering, image rotation, shadowing, compression, … |
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| ROM – Read-Only Memory |
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OS mounts a storage device to a Drive
Mounting is the process of making the file system on a storage device accessible to the OS and your applications / software.
- e.g. plug in a USB drive
Drive : storage device recognized by OS
2. What are a file and a folder?
File : uniquely named space on a Drive. Files contain Data.
Folder : file system's hierarchically named cataloging structure, including files and/or other folders.
3. Path and Filename structure
Full Path Name is the unique identifier of a file in a system: [drive|root] / folder / sub-folder(s) / filename.ext
Windows C:\users\student\w1.docx
Linux/Unix /users/student/w1.doxc
Windows: case-independent with \ backslash separators
Linux/Unix: case-dependent with / forward slash separators
4. File Extensions
A file extension is the code (1 – 5 characters) at the end of the filename,
proceeded by a period "." that denotes the generic type of file
Windows associates a file's extension with the application that processes the file’s data
