DateisystemInterfaces

DateisystemInterfaces denotes the set of interfaces that an operating system provides to interact with file systems. They define a portable and extensible API for file operations such as creating, opening, reading, writing, renaming, listing directories, and managing metadata and permissions. The interfaces serve as an abstraction layer that allows diverse storage formats to be mounted and used in a uniform way, independent of the underlying implementation.

The scope includes kernel-level interfaces such as the virtual file system switch (VFS) that provides a common API for mounted file systems, enabling uniform system calls like open, read, write, close, and stat. It also encompasses user-space interfaces such as FUSE, which allow file systems to be implemented outside the kernel, and network file system interfaces and protocols (for example NFS and SMB/CIFS) that enable remote access and interoperability across machines and platforms.

Common interfaces and protocols include POSIX file I/O APIs, the Windows file operation APIs, and specialized user-space interfaces like the FUSE API. Supporting protocols and standards such as NFS and SMB facilitate cross-system sharing, while metadata operations (stat, fstat, chmod, chown) provide file attribute handling essential for access control and management.

Implementations vary by platform but share the goal of a coherent, extensible path from application requests to storage. Examples include Linux’s VFS layer, macOS vnode-based management, Windows’ layered file system components, and the use of FUSE for third-party or non-native file systems.

See also: Virtual File System, File system, POSIX, NFS, SMB, FUSE.