Why Delete is Just another Fancy word

Thought you deleted your file? Think again… Here’s an overview of what I’ve learned over the past week while trying to delete a file on a Linux machine as part of my Insurance Tax Validator project. ☁️

When the computer deletes the file, it deletes the file reference. After removing the link (title, table of contents) to the file, the computer no longer sees it. The space occupied by the file is no longer reserved for it, and any new file can be saved in its place.

What’s the meaning of that? The file is no longer readable by the computer. However, it is still on your hard drive, at least until another file is saved to the same location.

Delete has its roots in Latin and was first used to mean destroy. In modern usage, delete means to remove completely. Delete used in writing means to edit by removing, often done by drawing a line through the text to be deleted .

What Happens When You Delete a File? 🤷‍♂️

It happens. You delete a folder or format a memory card without realizing that it contained some crucial file, photo, or document. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can recover or “undelete” that file. However, it’s not magic and you won’t be able to recover 100% of your file 100% of the time. To understand what affects your chances for…