LI-COR LI-6400 - What Are Files?; Naming Convention; What Are Directories?; What Are Disks?

The LPL File System
Files, Directories, and Disks
Using the LI-6400 10-3
What Are Files?
Files on the LI-6400 are just like files on your computer: each is a collection
of data that has a name and a time stamp (when it was last modified), among
other attributes. You can copy, delete, view, edit, and otherwise manage these
files just as you would on a computer. Some of the files on the LI-6400 are
programs to control the LI-6400, while other files are your own creation, con-
taining data youÕve collected.
Naming Convention
File names on the LI-6400 can be as long as youÕd care to make them, and can
consist of any combination of numbers, letters, spaces, and punctuation, ex-
cept the following five characters:
/ \ * ? ;
Upper and lower case does not matter for letters, so the following are equiv-
alent names:
MyData
mydata
MYDATA
Dots carry no significance in the LI-6400Õs file system, so names like
WheatData.plot2.aci.joe
are acceptable.
What Are Directories?
Directories provide a mechanism for grouping files logically, and can contain
the header information (name, date, etc.) for any number of files or other di-
rectories. Directories have the same naming convention as files. In fact, direc-
tories are simply a special kind of file.
What Are Disks?
Disks contain directories and files. In spite of the name, they are not remov-
able, like a floppy disk, and they have no moving parts, like a hard disk. They
do have a fixed size, and follow the same naming conventions as directories
and files.
To identify a particular file in the LI-6400Õs file system, use itÕs name, the
names of all the parent directories that contain it, and the name of the disk on
which it is found. For example,