file descriptor vs file handle

[Peter da Silva]

Playing fast and loose with definitions...

File descriptor: a small integer (0..n) indicating a file.

File handle: O/S specific object referring to a file. May be a pointer,
	a file descriptor, or something more exotic. Equivalent in function
	to a UNIX file descriptor.

File handle: in NFS, a file token.

File pointer: a pointer to a structure created by stdio. Contains the file
	descriptor or file handle.

File token: O/S specific object referring to a file, but may not actually
	be used to access a file (for example, in RMX-86 you DQ$ATTACH
	to a file to get a file token. To do I/O on it you DQ$OPEN the
	returned token.

File lock: in AmigaDOS, a file token.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter at ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"