(1) In communications, the route between any two nodes. Same as "line," "channel," "link" or "circuit."

(2) In database management, the route from one set of data to another; for example, from customers to orders.

(3) A selected line or area in an image. See clipping path.

(4) The route to a file on a disk. In Windows, DOS and OS/2, the path to the MYLIFE file located in the STORIES subfolder within the JOE folder on drive C: would be expressed as follows. Backslashes are used as separators.

            c:\joe\stories\mylife

The equivalent path in the Unix system follows. This is the same for Linux and the Mac, starting with Mac OS X. Unix knows which drive is used. Regular slashes (forward slashes) are used as separators.

            /joe/stories/mylife

Prior to the Unix-based Mac OS X operating system, the Mac could also use a path in certain command sequences. For example, with "hard disk" as the drive, the equivalent path is:

            hard disk:joe:stories:mylife

Using Paths

Managing your computer requires a knowledge of paths, and there are numerous instances where you use them. For example, in the Windows version of this encyclopedia, there is a dialog box that displays the path to the location of the CDETEXT.TXT file. For more details on the Windows path and folder hierarchy, see Win Folder organization.