Storing data

?

File formats

Data created by software applications, using different file formats, are stored on storage media so that they can be retrieved for use later.

Operating systems use file formats to decide which application to use to open the file.

Some operating systems use file extensions to show the file format while others look inside the file to find out what type if file is beng accessed.

Microsoft Windows uses file extensions.

1 of 4

Proprietary formats

Proprietary formats are those owned and used by commerical companies.

.doc .docx - Microsoft Word Document - typically used for word-processed letters

.xls .xlsx - Microsoft Excel Document - typically used for spreadsheets

.ppt .pptx - Microsoft Powerpoint Document - typically used for slideshow presentations

.fla - Adobe Flash Movie/Animation - typically used for Animations/Movies.

.wma - Windows Media Audio - typically used for audio/sounds.

2 of 4

Open formats

Open formats are those formats that others are allowed to use. A variety of software applications use open formats and they can be used to transfer data between applications. Some open file formats are shown below.

.aac - Advanced audio coding - audio/ sounds stored without loss of data

.rtf - Rich text format - Word processing documents

.csv - Comma separated values - Lists of data

.exe - Executable file - applications that can be run on computer systems 

.txt - Text - Text files

.pdf - Portable document format - formatted documents

.mp3 - MPEG audio layer 3 - Audio/sounds stored with loss of data when the file is compressed

.aiff - Apple's audio format - Audio/sounds

.wav - Microsofts audio format used by many computer systems - Audio/sounds

3 of 4

Choosing an appropriate file format

The choice of file format to use depends on:

  • The file contents
  • How best to store the contents
  • Which software application has created the file
  • How the user intends to use the file

The contents of a file may be video, audio, images, text, or numbers which have to be stored in a way that ensures that the data can be retrieved and used again at a later date.

A DTP file saved on a computer disk will contain text, numbers and images which have to be linked so that they are in the correct place when the file is opened again.

Choosing a file format for saving an image is important as most image file formats compress the image and this may lose some of the details

Files that are intended to be shared should be saved in a format that most, if not all, computers and portable devices can use

Sharing files over the internet will influence the choice of format because very large files can take a very long time to send or receive.

4 of 4

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar ICT resources:

See all ICT resources »See all Data and Information resources »