CODEWITHSUNDEEP
filesystems
Paige Ruten
Paige Ruten

Reputation: 176655

What is a root directory?

I know what a root directory is, of course, but I am finding it very difficult to explain to people what it is. I wrote a Nintendo DS application that requires a folder to be copied to the root directory of your memory card, and I often get e-mails from people who copied it to the wrong place and don't understand what the root directory is. I don't think they realize that the root directory can be thought of as a directory or "folder".

What is the best way to explain this to these people?

Upvotes: 5

Views: 4896

Answers (6)

Mikey C
Mikey C

Reputation: 1

Make them visualize it as one of those Russian dolls where the larger one holds all the remaining dolls and one by one they decrease in size.Or much like a family tree. The root directory is adam...as in adam and eve and the rest are the offspring branching outwards from Adam the highest person on the tree.

Upvotes: 0

Kyle G
Kyle G

Reputation: 467

Could you create a simple extractor/installer that will do it all for them?, could save a lot of hassle for the non-tech people.

Upvotes: 1

Toon Krijthe
Toon Krijthe

Reputation: 53366

What about using a metaphore:

You can see the folders structure as a tree. Each folder is a branch with subbranches and leaves (the files). Each branch is connected to an other (bigger branch) except one. The root.

Upvotes: 1

Matt Howell
Matt Howell

Reputation: 15946

Call it the "top-level" folder.

Upvotes: 2

Sklivvz
Sklivvz

Reputation: 31133

For them, the root directory is the first folder they see when the double click the memory card icon.

Upvotes: 1

Fabian Steeg
Fabian Steeg

Reputation: 45714

Maybe you could tell them to put it on the memory card itself, not in any folder.

Upvotes: 8

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