Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
}
TY - GEN
T1 - What is a file?
AU - Harper, R.
AU - Thereska, E.
AU - Lindley, S.
AU - Banks, R.
AU - Gosset, P.
AU - Odom, W.
AU - Smyth, G.
AU - Whitworth, E.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - For over 40 years the notion of the file, as devised by pioneers in the field of computing, has been the subject of much contention. Some have wanted to abandon the term altogether on the grounds that metaphors about files can confuse users and designers alike. More recently, the emergence of the 'cloud' has led some to suggest that the term is simply obsolescent. In this paper we want to suggest that, despite all these conceptual debates and changes in technology, the term file still remains central to systems architectures and to the concerns of users. Notwithstanding profound changes in what users do and technologies afford, we suggest that files continue to act as a cohering concept, something like a 'boundary object' between computer engineers and users. However, the effectiveness of this boundary object is now waning. There are increasing signs of slippage and muddle. Instead of throwing away the notion altogether, we propose that the definition of and use of files as a boundary object be reconstituted. New abstractions are needed, ones which reflect what users seek to do with their digital data, and which allow engineers to solve the networking, storage and data management problems that ensue when files move from the PC on to the networked world of today.
AB - For over 40 years the notion of the file, as devised by pioneers in the field of computing, has been the subject of much contention. Some have wanted to abandon the term altogether on the grounds that metaphors about files can confuse users and designers alike. More recently, the emergence of the 'cloud' has led some to suggest that the term is simply obsolescent. In this paper we want to suggest that, despite all these conceptual debates and changes in technology, the term file still remains central to systems architectures and to the concerns of users. Notwithstanding profound changes in what users do and technologies afford, we suggest that files continue to act as a cohering concept, something like a 'boundary object' between computer engineers and users. However, the effectiveness of this boundary object is now waning. There are increasing signs of slippage and muddle. Instead of throwing away the notion altogether, we propose that the definition of and use of files as a boundary object be reconstituted. New abstractions are needed, ones which reflect what users seek to do with their digital data, and which allow engineers to solve the networking, storage and data management problems that ensue when files move from the PC on to the networked world of today.
KW - Cloud computing
KW - Command
KW - Consumer devices
KW - Databases
KW - File
KW - File systems
KW - Generic object
KW - Grammar of action
KW - Metadata
KW - Ownership
KW - Possession
KW - Social networking
KW - Database systems
KW - Digital storage
KW - Information management
KW - Interactive computer systems
KW - Social networking (online)
KW - Computer supported cooperative work
U2 - 10.1145/2441776.2441903
DO - 10.1145/2441776.2441903
M3 - Conference contribution/Paper
SN - 9781450313315
SP - 1125
EP - 1136
BT - CSCW '13 Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work
PB - ACM
CY - New York
ER -