CODEWITHSUNDEEP
terminologydirectory-structure
Ryan
Ryan

Reputation: 6055

What is the correct term for this root directory in web development?

I am writing some documentation for a web application and I want to make sure I am using the correct terminology in describing this root directory.

My web application can be configured to be used in any directory. For example you could install it at http://site.com/, or you could install it at http://site.com/mydir/, or you could install it all http://site.com/dira/dirb/.

In each of those cases the root directory would be /, /mydir/ and /dira/dirb/. My question is, is there a term for this exact type of absolute root directory concept? Document root? application root? web root? Or is this a special type of root that is specific to my application that I should invent a name for?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 165

Answers (3)

user166390
user166390

Reputation:

I refer to it as a [web]application root -- the root of that particular application.

It is the root of the application, but not necessarily that of the web(site), depending on how that is defined. In a different environment, however, a Site and a Web have very specific meanings. In SharePoint, for instance, a "Web root" relative path might be "/mysite/myweb". A "document root" sounds like a place to find documents ... not an application.

The important thing is that the users knows what is meant -- and to this effect I'd recommend clearly separating the concerns of "web"/"document" and "application".

Happy coding.

Upvotes: 1

karllindmark
karllindmark

Reputation: 6071

/ is commonly referred to as web root, and application root can be seen as something like the following: /application-directory. You can however call the both the examples root, as they surely are the root of something (in this case, your web application and/or server).

Upvotes: 0

Anders Abel
Anders Abel

Reputation: 69260

I would say web application root, which is the term used on MSDN for the directory where web.config resides.

The web site root is always '/', but in IIS any subdirectory can be configured as an own application, with its own web.config and it is then logical to call that directory for the web application root.

If your application does not have an own web.config I would suggest using "install root" or something like that to avoid confusion.

Upvotes: 1

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