In Windows Shell programming, the Windows Shell namespace is an organized tree-structured

hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an importan ...

representation that

Windows Explorer File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...

facilitates to graphically present file system contents and other objects to the end user. Conceptually, the Shell namespace may be regarded as a larger and more inclusive version of the file system. The Shell namespace is a hierarchical tree that consists of the wide variety of objects that make up the system.

Types of objects

Specifically, the Shell namespace consists of two basic types of objects, namely files and folders. Folder objects, which are containers for file objects and other folders called subdirectories, are the nodes of the tree, while file objects are the leaves of the namespace tree. Objects in the Shell namespace can represent physically stored file system objects such as files and folders, or can be virtual objects such as the

My Network Places My Network Places (formerly Network Neighborhood) is the network browser feature in Windows Explorer. It was first introduced in Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 as Network Neighborhood, and was renamed My Network Places in Windows 2000 and later, be ...

and Recycle Bin " virtual folders". The folders and data files that reside on physical computer disk drives are the most numerous and familiar of these objects; although, through

extensions Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (proof theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values t ...

the Shell also provides access to various virtual objects that may not involve physical storage at all. Consequentially, there are folders that do not reside on the physical file system, which are referred to as virtual folders. Likewise, there are virtual file objects that do not reside on the physical file system. Virtual Shell objects are used throughout the Windows Shell. On the

Desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...

, Shell launchers are implemented through a built-in

shell extension File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...

. The Windows Shell utilizes virtual Shell objects to conceptually represent computer

peripheral A peripheral device, or simply peripheral, is an auxiliary hardware device that a computer uses to transfer information externally. A peripheral is a hardware component that is accessible to and controlled by a computer but is not a core compo ...

s and network devices, such as printers and routers. Virtual Shell objects can function as Shell links and execute commands when invoked by the user. For example, in Windows XP and other versions, "rundll32.exe" shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0 is executed on the command line when a user launches the "Folder Options"

applet In computing, an applet is any small application that performs one specific task that runs within the scope of a dedicated widget engine or a larger program, often as a plug-in. The term is frequently used to refer to a Java applet, a program ...

in the Control Panel. The user's Desktop is a special folder that resides at the root of the Shell namespace. Although this folder maps by default to a physical folder stored in the user's profile folder, the special desktop folder is represented as a distinct object from the physical desktop folder. The same holds true with the " My Documents" (Windows 95 through XP) or user "

Documents A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes a "teaching" or "lesson": ...

" (Windows Vista+) folder.

External links

Creating Shell Extension Handlers

Understanding Shell Namespace Extensions

Introduction to the Shell Namespace

Windows Shell functions
at codebot {{Windows Components Windows administration

Types of objects

See also

External links