The structure of a file. There are hundreds of different formats for data (databases, word processing, spreadsheets, images, video, etc.). There are also formats for executable programs on different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc.). Each format defines how the sequence of bits and bytes are laid out, with the ASCII text file being the simplest (see ASCII file). See native format, foreign format, graphics formats, record layout and extension.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- More security holes appear in Microsoft Office
- In addition to this long list of missing Microsoft patches, there are at least three serious unpatched vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Office productivity suite. On August 12, the same day Microsoft released a slew of Office patches, TippingPoint's DV Labs published a bare-bones advisory warning about a...
- Blog posts 2008-08-21
- And some photos of the new Classmate prototype
- Sure, they're press photos from Intel, but doesn't this little thing look cool? Load it up with Edubuntu, full mesh implementation, and keep the price under $500 and you'll certainly have me rolling it out in my elementary schools. The video embedded above is some background on the...
- Blog posts 2008-08-21
- Amazon: Persistent storage open for EC2
- Amazon said Thursday that its Elastic Block Store feature is now available to all of its EC2 Web service customers. The move gives Amazon Web Services a full storage suite delivered as a service. EC2 is Amazon's storage service and the Elastic Block Store gives customers a...
- Blog posts 2008-08-21
- About Atom: Intel's big plans for its little chip
- One of the bolder goals Intel set at IDF this week is that within a decade it wants ship 1 billion Intel-based mobile computing devices each year. That's a big bet when you consider Intel estimates there will be a total of 163 million notebooks shipped this year. ...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- The Waltham Pact: Where are the tangibles?
- This week, Microsoft renewed their union with Novell, to the tune of an additional 100 million dollars in commitment to buy more SUSE Linux support certificates that it can sell to its customers. Dang, Ballmer, for that kind of cash, you can get your vows renewed...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- New touch screen Classmates unveiled today
- Intel unveiled a new iteration of its Classmate PC today, featuring a touch screen with tablet mode, a new wedge design, and motion-sensing internal hardware. According to Intel's press release, "Our ethnographic research has shown us that students responded well to tablet and touch screen...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- Opera patches 7 vulnerabilities but keeps one a secret
- Opera Software has shipped a new version of its flagship Web browser with fixes for at least seven documented security problems but details on one vulnerability -- a cross-site scripting issue reported by Chris Weber-- is being kept under wraps. Opera warned that one of the seven...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- Novell-Microsoft interop pact may look sweeter to IT shops these days
- Novell took a lot of heat from open source backers for executing an interoperability pact with Microsoft in late 2006 but the partnership -- strengthened with a new $100 million investment from Microsoft today -- is probably looking sweeter to mixed IT shops these days. Why? Because of recent...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- Can Adobe mitigate 'clipboard hijack' issue?
- Adobe's product security incident response team PSIRT says it is investigating possible solutions to the clipboard hijack attacks spotted on Flash-based advertisements on high-profile Web sites. A barebones note on the PSIRT blog simply acknowledges the issue and promised more information after the investigation but, by mentioning...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- Why do you want WinFS?
- Every time the conversation turns to Windows 7, the subject of WinFS comes up. This next-generation file storage software was cut from Windows Vista and eventually killed completely nearly four years ago. But it keeps reappearing on lists of features that people want to see in Windows 7. Why? WinFS...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- Sun release claims Sun Ray shipments nearly double
- Sun just issued a press release claiming that its shipments of Sun Ray "thin client" systems nearly doubled. The most exciting part of the announcement was that the document was sent not as a text message, not as an HTML formatted document, but as a Sun Staroffice document. I'm sure...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- News to know: IDF; Windows 7 wishes; IE 8; Salesforce.com
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily: Larry Dignan: Salesforce acquires InStranet; Will take it SaaS and better target call centers Ed Bott: My Windows 7 wish list ...
- Blog posts 2008-08-20
- PDF Splitter and Merger (exe)
- PDF Splitter and Merger is a PDF tool developed for quicker and more efficient access to information needed from your PDF files, reorganizing them in a way that makes them easier to manage and handle. With the ability to split PDF files into separate documents, either by page range or...
- Software downloads 2008-08-20
- FictionSoftware HashTray (exe)
- HashTray is a windows hash calculator for verification of file integrity. With HashTray you can generate different hashes for a single file, or use the multi file hasher to easy compare files or find duplicate files. Use the 'Download & Verify' feature to automatically validate downloaded files. This version is...
- Software downloads 2008-08-20
- eBooks volume 3: What is the right price for a device that holds 100s of books?
- eBooks volume 3: What is the right price for a device that holds 100s of books?Thanks for asking.Everybody is talking about eBook readers, but nobody is asking what the market will pay for them.I love the Kindle, but I think it's a bit expensive, and your poll results show that...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-19
- eBooks volume 3: What is the right price for a device that holds 100s of books?
- Over the past couple weeks, I've been conducting polls about ebooks as I think about doing some publishing. The overwhelming response to the polls has been that there is not a sufficiently broad selection of books available in e-formats, regardless of what format, whether for Amazon's Kindle, the Sony Reader...
- Blog posts 2008-08-19
- Windows 7 wishes
- Windows 7 wishesOn layers.Per Ed's post, IE 8 continues to be integrated and integral to the OS. It is likely that many other user space apps that MS creates, will at least be partially embedded, if not completely.End user applications have no business being part of the OS itself,...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-19
- IE 8 to get 'porn mode'?
- IE 8 to get 'porn mode'?Double-edged swordsSeveral years ago, our company implemented very stringent usage rules on our IT assets, including Internet access. And the IT department installed "monitoring tools" aka spyware to keep an eye on the rank-and-file.The result? A number of employees got fired for surfing porn, trading...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-19
- Apple releases iPhone 2.0.2, as usual, sans changelog
- Apple releases iPhone 2.0.2, as usual, sans changelogJust do it!Come on, you bought the iPhone because Brother Steve knows what's cool. And what's good for you. He wants you to update your phone, so just do it! You'll thank him later.The morgue called.They said they found the...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-19
- Psystar fails to meet court deadline again
- Psystar fails to meet court deadline againThey have NOT failed to meet a court deadline!!!"that an extension has been granted"They simply had the date moved.The court permitted it, so it's NOT a "failed to meet a court deadline" thing.Is there no law to stop Bloggers from printing a deliberate lie?Not...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-19
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
-
-
Tasty Baking’s new LEED factory
0:57
Tasty Baking CIO: Brendan O’Malley
-
Balancing act: innovation vs. reliability
1:28
Facebook VP of technical operations: Jonathan Heiliger
-
Securing data at E-Loan
1:47
E-Loan CIO: Jay Shah
-
When crops are scarce
1:47
Del Monte Foods CIO: Marc Brown
- View all CIO Vision Series Videos »
