# Does the term File Specification, AKA Spec, have a pedigree?

**URL:** <https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/does-the-term-file-specification-aka-spec-have-a-pedigree/5597>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [July 11, 2022, 8:10am UTC](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/does-the-term-file-specification-aka-spec-have-a-pedigree/5597 "2022-07-11T08:10:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![EricGT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f1d935/32.png) [@EricGT](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/u/EricGT)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:10am UTC](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/does-the-term-file-specification-aka-spec-have-a-pedigree/5597/1 "2022-07-11T08:10:17Z")

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In using absolute\_file\_name/3 and user:[file\_search\_path/2](https://www.swi-prolog.org/pldoc/man?predicate=file_search_path/2) ([ref](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/using-absolute-file-name-3-and-user-file-search-path-2/5531)) on a regular basis was looking for some official references for `File Specification` but the most official document I find from Googling is

[https://wiki.vmssoftware.com/File\_specification](https://wiki.vmssoftware.com/File_specification)

While VMS is a respectable reference, it is an isolated set of documentation from what I see and not part of a pedigree leading to a more official definition.

I was hoping for something more official or something from Wikipedia that would lead to something more official but there is no specific Wikipedia ([https://www.wikipedia.org/](https://www.wikipedia.org/)) entry.

For the similar Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) there is

> **[RFC 3986 - Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3986)**
>
> Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax (RFC 3986)

Does any one know of an official document for File Specification that applies to computers in general or is this one of those terms that has a fairly well established meaning that it never really needed an official standard?

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**Author:** ![jan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/swi-prolog.discourse.group/jan/32/4_2.png) [@jan](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/u/jan)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 9:04am UTC](https://swi-prolog.discourse.group/t/does-the-term-file-specification-aka-spec-have-a-pedigree/5597/2 "2022-07-11T09:04:53Z")

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As far as the ISO Prolog standard is concerned, a file as used by e.g., open/3 is a ground term (AFAIK). Practically every Prolog system implements this as an atom that denotes a file name as is used by the operating system, possibly with some abstraction to improve portability.

SWI-Prolog absolute\_file\_name/3 finds its origin in Quintus Prolog. It allows specifying search paths and using these as Path(File). In SWI-Prolog, unlike Quintus and most other systems, _File_ in _Path(File)_ can be a term Segment1/Segment2/…