Learning About Disks, Files,
and
Directories
131
The Format Command
Before you can use
your
new
disks for storing information, you
must/ormat
them. You
do
this
with
the
format
command, a spe-
cial program that structures a disk
so
that
MS·
DOS
can
find informa-
tion
on
it.
The
fonnat
command
also checks
the
disk for defec-
tive spots.
You
can
format both floppy and hard disks. But
remember
that
if
a disk
is
not
blank, formatting it destroys any data already
on
the
disk.
You will learn more about
the
format
command
in
Chapter 4,
"Using Commands."
How to Name Your Files
When
naming a file you may have trouble finding a name that
uniquely identifies
the
file's contents. Dates, for example, are often
used
in filenames; however, they take
up
several characters, leav-
ing
you
with little flexibility.
Other
common
names for files are
words
like budget,/inances, analysis, report, etc. These kinds
of
filenames identify
the
contents,
but
leave little
room
for dates.
So
the
secret
is
to
find a compromise - a
point
where
you can com-
bine
a date
with
a word, creating a unique filename.
The name
of
a typical
MS·
DOS file
(see
Chapter
1)
looks like this:
customer.
1st
I filename I filename extension
Notice that
the
filename was typed in lowercase letters. You can
type filenames in uppercase
or
lowercase letters,
even
though
MS-DOS
converts them into uppercase letters. Some
more
examples
of
filenames are:
budget.86
takeover.bid
june86
finances.doc
schedule.may
Many
of
your
filenames wilL contain only letters and numbers. But
you may also use any
of
the
following symbols
(and
letters)
in
your
filenames and extensions:
A-Z
a-z
0-9 $ % ' - @ { } - , ! #
Formatting your disks
Naming your flies
Valid filename
characters
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