Critically read the Lesson Text for this lesson.
You are going to create a variety of files as you develop a website. These files will be stored on your local computer. It's important to keep your files in organized locations so they are easy to find and manage.
Root Directories
A web site will live in some "root directory" on a web server's hard drive. All of the HTML files, image files, and other resources should go inside this root directory, or some sub-directory below the root. As you create web pages on your own computer, you will want to store all of those files within a root directory that you have created just for that web site.
In this class, you will create more than one web site. So, we also recommend you create a common folder or working area that will hold all of your web site root directories. Make sure you create this folder in some easy-to-remember location. Then, you can create root directories for each of your web sites underneath that common folder. That way, your projects are easy to find and manage.
The example below shows how we've created a "MyProjects" working folder on a Windows computer under the user's "Documents" area. This "MyProjects" folder will be our working area for all projects. We then created a "CreepyCrawlies" sub-folder as the root directory for an example website.
We have also placed several HTML files in that "CreepyCrawlies" root directory and also added an "images" sub-folder that will hold our image files. The actual location of your working folder is not important; just make sure you remember where you are placing your projects so you can find them later!
If you have more than one web site, you would create more than one root directory. So you might also create a "MyDogs" folder underneath "MyProjects" as a second root for a website about dogs. Make sure to keep your work neat and organized with a separate root directory for each site.
In our examples, we are going to use the "MyProjects" folder as the top-level working area. On a Windows computer this might be stored under the user's "Documents" directory or as "<YourUserName>/MyProjects" on Mac OS. You can pick a different working folder, but our examples will show these directory structures.Throughout this first semester, you are going to be building a website about "Raptors". We'll start off very simply and then make the website more complex as you learn new HTML skills.Since we are making a web site about Raptors, let's begin by making a "Raptors" root directory on your computer.If you have spent any time on the computer, you have probably experienced some sort of computer error. The screen freezes, the program kicks you off or you see the dreaded Windows blue screen or Apple's "spinning circle of death". These problems can cause you to lose hours of work or, sometimes, your entire computer!
These types of errors mean it's important to "back up" your important files. When you back up your files, you make a copy them in another location for safe keeping. If you ever lose your files, you can copy them from backup into your main working area. Ideally, your backup location will be outside of your computer itself, perhaps on a flash drive, shared network drive, or even stored in an online cloud service.One simple backup approach is to copy files to another location on your hard drive when you reach a good stopping point. You can create a folder such as "MyProjectsBackups" right next to your "MyProjects" folder. Then use this location to store backup copies of your work after each chapter.
So far, there are no files in your "Raptors" web site folder. But we can practice making a backup copy of the entire folder so you'll know how to do this later, once you start creating web pages.
Instructions
Open your Windows Explorer, File Explorer or Finder program
Move to your "MyProjects" folder.
Select the "Raptors" folder in the right side window.
Copy the folder by pressing the CTRL+C keys (Windows) or the Command+C keys (Mac) at the same time, or right-click on the folder and select "Copy".
Select the "MyProjectsBackups" folder
Paste a copy of your project by pressing CTRL+V keys (Windows) or the Command+V keys (Mac) at the same time, or right-click in an empty area in the right-side window and select "Paste".
Rename the "Raptors" backup folder inside "MyProjectsBackups" and add a number to show the chapter to which it belongs such as "Raptors-02".
1. What is the purpose of a "root directory"?
2. Discuss the upcoming Raptors web site project.
3. Discuss the importance of backing up computer work.
1. The purpose of a "root directory" is to serve as the main folder or location where all the files for a website are stored. It acts as the starting point for organizing and managing the files of the website.
2. The upcoming Raptors web site project involves building a website about Raptors. It will start off simple and gradually become more complex as the learner acquires new HTML skills.
3. The importance of backing up computer work is emphasized due to the potential occurrence of computer errors or issues that can lead to loss of data or work. Backing up files ensures that copies of the important files are stored in another location for safekeeping. This allows for easy recovery and prevents the loss of hours or even an entire computer's worth of work. Various backup options, such as using external drives, shared network drives, or online cloud services, are mentioned to facilitate the process of backing up files. Additionally, a simple backup approach suggests creating a separate folder next to the main working area and regularly copying files into it.
Where did you get each information in the text?
1. The information about the purpose of a "root directory" is derived from the passage where it is mentioned that a web site will live in a root directory on a web server's hard drive, and all the HTML files, image files, and other resources should go inside this root directory or its sub-directory.
2. The information about the upcoming Raptors web site project is explicitly stated in the passage, which mentions that the learner will be building a website about Raptors throughout the first semester, starting off simple and gradually making it more complex as they learn new HTML skills.
3. The importance of backing up computer work is stated in the passage, where it mentions that computer errors or issues can cause loss of work or even the entire computer. It also stresses the need to make backup copies of important files in another location for safekeeping. Different backup options like external drives, shared network drives, or online cloud services are mentioned as examples. The passage also suggests a simple backup approach of creating a separate folder and copying files into it for backup.
1. The purpose of a "root directory" is to serve as the main folder or location on a web server's hard drive where all the files and resources for a website are stored. It is recommended to create a root directory for each web site to keep files organized and easily accessible.
2. The upcoming project is to build a website about "Raptors". The lesson suggests starting off simple and gradually making the website more complex as HTML skills are learned.
3. The importance of backing up computer work is discussed because computer errors and crashes can occur, potentially causing the loss of hours of work or even the entire computer. Backing up files involves making copies of them in another location for safekeeping. This can be done on a flash drive, shared network drive, or stored in an online cloud service. The lesson suggests creating a separate folder for backups and copying files after each chapter to ensure that there are backup copies available in case of any issues.