a digitally stored, addressable, named block of information

an organized collection of data stored on a mass storage volume and processed by a central processing unit (CPU)

A data and/or program file encoded for manipulation by computer. Computer files may be stored on CD-ROMs, floppy disks, microdisks, or magnetic tapes.

A computer file is a piece of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, that is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished. Computer files can be considered as the modern counterpart of the files of printed documents that traditionally existed in offices and libraries, which are the source of the term.