ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Path (computing)

A path in computing is like a set of instructions for your computer to follow so it can find a specific file or folder. Think of it like a map that tells you how to get from your house to the playground.

When you tell your computer to open a file or folder, it needs to know where exactly that file or folder is located in its memory. A path is how you tell the computer where to find it.

The path is made up of a series of folders, separated by slashes. These folders are like little boxes that hold other boxes inside of them (think of a Russian nesting doll).

Let's say you want to find a file that's called "kitten.jpg" on your computer. If you know that it's stored in a folder called "Pictures," you'd need to give the computer a path that leads to that folder. The path might look something like this:

C:\Users\YourName\Pictures\kitten.jpg

The first part of the path (C:\) tells the computer which hard drive to look at. The next part (Users\YourName) tells it to look in the folder for your user account. From there, it can follow the path to the Pictures folder, and then to the file called kitten.jpg.

So when you're using a computer and you're trying to find a specific file or folder, you need to tell the computer where to look for it by giving it the right path. Just like how you give your mom or dad a map to follow when you're going somewhere new.