What is root directory?

The top directory in a file system. The root directory is provided by the operating system and has a special name; for example, in DOS systems the root directory is called \. The root directory is sometimes referred to simply as the root.

A root directory is the first directory.

The root is something that contains all other directories and files on the system, with the root being the starting point.

Does that make sense?

A disk filing system is a collection of files. To keep track of these files, information about each one is stored in a directory (which is itself a special type of file).

Because you could have a million different files on a disk, the directories are structured into a hierarchy, so that a directory can store store more directories, and these can themselves store more directories and so on. This hierarchy means that a user isn't overwhelmed by a huge list of files. They'll only see their own files, unless they specifically go wandering around the disk.

Because the directories are stored in a hierarchy, there has to be something at the top. This top level directory is the root directory. In Unix, its simply called "/"

Hello,

Root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy. It can be likened to the trunk of a tree, as the starting point where all branches originate.

You cannot create a directory above it.

In windoze, every drive, c, d etc has one.

In unix/linux etc, there is only one for the entire computer since all programs only refer to where the drive is attached under the single root.

OK.

Top most directory in a hierarchy.

I sa a blog post on this the other day, give me 5 min to check browser history.