A collection of information, referred to by file name; for example, a user-created document, program data, or the program itself. With a program, the information is held on backing store (i.e. usually on magnetic disk) in order

1. (a) to enable it to persist beyond the time of execution of a single job and/or

2. (b) to overcome space limitations in main memory.

Files with a very brief existence (i.e. in case (b) above, or where they simply carry information between one job and the next in sequence) are called work files. See also data file, master file.