The notion of access, which comes from the Latin word accessus, refers to the act of approaching or reaching something. Direct, on the other hand, is that which moves towards a site without slowing down in intermediate sectors or that advances straight towards a target.
Based on definitions by Digopaul, the idea of direct access is used in the field of information technology to name an icon that the operating system Windows from Microsoft, allows access to a file or a file. Shortcuts are files that house data about the location of a document or a program: when the user makes one or two clicks on the icon, they access the material that it refers to.
To understand how a shortcut works, keep in mind that a document may be stored in a folder that, in turn, is located within other folders.
Suppose a person, when turning on his computer, is at the Windows desktop and wants to open a text document that he has saved in a folder. The subject has to enter, successively, the folders My Documents, Office Documents, Suppliers and, finally, Supplies. Just in this last folder (Supplies), the document you want to open is located. To save time and save several steps, you can create a shortcut to the text document in question on your desktop. This way, the next time you want to access the document from the Windows desktop, you can do it with one or two clicks, depending on your configuration.
It is worth mentioning that, although the concept of direct access is usually associated with the Windows operating system, it exists in most, if not all, although it receives a different name for legal reasons or to prevent the public from confusing products.
It is important to understand that direct access is nothing more than an automation of the steps that the user should take to access their documents; that is to say, that these are still in the same place where they have been stored, and the computer must go to look for them following the same path that the person would do.
Since the operating system performs the directory opening and disk scanning process at high speed and without showing the user every step, many people come to believe that the shortcut is a copy of the file it points to; It goes without saying that this is not correct, regardless of the particular way in which each system manages your information to optimize the search and opening of files.
Today, with the rise of mobile phones and tablets, the concept of direct access travels with us everywhere and we take advantage of it constantly to save time when opening our applications, our photos and our favorite songs, among others elements.
Modern video game consoles also have relatively complex operating systems, since the devices that limited themselves to executing the game that the user connected were far behind, to give rise to authentic computers, capable of browsing the Internet, downloading digital titles, playing movies through various services, chat with our contact list, see our personal photos and even capture video of our games and then share them with other players. To run digital games or applications, you also need to have shortcuts.
In colloquial language, the concept of direct access is used with reference to the possibility of avoiding various steps until reaching a goal or objective: “Rest assured, I will solve the problem for you: I have direct access to the mayor. ”
