The word "file" derives from the Latin filum ("a thread").
"File" was used in the context of computer storage as early as January 1940. In Punched Card Methods in Scientific Computation, W. J. Eckert

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On most modern operating systems, files are organized into one-dimensional arrays of bytes. The format of a file is defined by its content since a file is solely a container for data.
On some platforms the format is indicated by its

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In modern computer systems, files are typically accessed using names (filenames). In some operating systems, the name is associated with the file itself. In others, the file is

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Many modern computer systems provide methods for protecting files against accidental and deliberate damage. Computers that allow for

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When a file is said to be corrupted, it is because its contents have been saved to the computer in such a way that they cannot be properly read,

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When computer files contain information that is extremely important, a back-upprocess is used to protect against disasters that might

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Any file that has any useful purpose must have some physical manifestation. That is, a file (an abstract concept) in a real computer system must have a real physical analogue if it is to

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