Definition

A named and ordered sequence of bytes that is known by an operating system. A file can be zero or more bytes long, has access permissions, and file system statistics such as size and last modification date. A file also has a file format.

Source: PREMIS Editorial Committee. PREMIS data dictionary for preservation metadata. Version 3.0. June 2015, revised November 2015 https://www.loc.gov/standards/premis/v3/premis-3-0-final.pdf.

Introduction

The Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative offers the following definition of a digital file:

At a high level of abstraction, a digital or computer file is a stored segment or block of information that is available to a computer program. Files are so named because they are the counterparts of the paper documents traditionally kept in file folders, usually stored in a file cabinet. Computer operating systems consider files as a sequence of bytes, while application software interprets the binary data as, say, text characters, image pixels, or audio samples.

Related terms

Byte

File format

File system

References

Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative. Digital File. http://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/term.php?term=digitalfile

PREMIS Editorial Committee. Introduction and supporting materials from PREMIS data dictionary for preservation metadata. Version 2.1. http://www.loc.gov/standards/premis/v2/premis-report-2-1.pdf.