Virtual File System

Noun · Development

Definitions

  1. An abstraction layer in the operating system kernel that provides a uniform file-operation interface (open, read, write, close) regardless of the underlying filesystem type. Linux's VFS allows ext4, NFS, procfs, and FUSE filesystems to coexist transparently behind the same POSIX API.

    In plain English: A layer in the operating system that lets programs read and write files the same way, no matter what kind of storage system the files actually live on.

    Example: "Thanks to the VFS layer, your code calls read() the same way whether the file is on ext4, NFS, or a FUSE-backed S3 mount."

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