The name given to the set of names of devices, directories, subdirectories, and a specific file, by means of which the file-management system is able to reach the specified file. Depending on the details of the file-management system actually in use, the access path may start with the name of a physical or logical device, which holds a number of directories that associate the identity of an object with its location on the device; these objects may in turn be further directories (usually then known as subdirectories) or they may be files containing end-user data. The complete set of intermediate objects, in the order in which they are used, is the access path.