A sequence of directories, separated by a forward slash (/) on Unix, a backward slash (\) in Windows and a colon (:) or forward slash character (/) on Apple Macintosh operating systems. A pathname specifies the location of a file and may be absolute (i.e. giving its whole or complete address on the system) or relative (i.e. its position in relation to another part of the system).

a file name given as the sequence of directories that lead to the file. A pathname can be either a full pathname or a relative pathname Select the item UNIX File System from the Concepts menu for a more detailed explanation.

The name of a file or folder listed with all parent folders. This is the full name which the computer uses for a folder or a file.

The complete name of a document beginning with the name of the disk, also called the volume name, the name of the subdirectory it's in if it's in one, and the name of the document. The pathname begins with a slash, and the parts of the pathname are separated with slashes. It's called a pathname because it describes the route to the document. Volume name is the name of a disk or its main directory.