Disadvantages of Single-Level Directory
- Scalability: Single level directory becomes a nightmare when the number of files residing inside it increases severely. As everything is inside a single directory, it becomes hard to search for a file, everything looks cluttered, lack of sub-directories makes them unorganized.
- Naming Problem: No two files can have the same name inside of the directory, their extension can be the same but names but be unique. If the extensions are different then only files of the same name can be stored together.
- Security: Security is very less as anyone who has access to that directory can see all the files.
Single Level Directory in OS
We all know that directories are one of the most important things users need to store their data in. Those directories are divided into multiple structures, i.e., categories, one of those categories is the single-level Directory. Single-level directories offer the simplest approach to File Organization in any OS. As the name suggests, a single-level directory stores all the necessary files in a single directory without having multiple sub-directories inside it. It might seem the best way to store files because it is the simplest form of file organization, but the main problem arises when the number of files we are storing inside it increases heavily. Then it becomes a nightmare to find the file we are looking for as everything is stored inside one folder so it takes a lot of time to find the file.
In this article, we will see all sides of the single-level directory structure, from its impact on file organization to its limitations and drawbacks.