# Open Systems File interface

The Open Systems File interface (OSFI) provides a standard
mechanism for handling nonfile entities as if they were standard D3
files.

The high-level interface is through Super Q-Pointers that
indicate the host name and some identifier of the data in the remote
environment.

The OSFI uses the specified host information to
access one of many low-level drivers, which opens a direct channel
into the remote environment. All standard D3 file system calls are
translated into a limited number of internal commands that all low-level
drivers understand and can translate into the appropriate operation
in their respective environments.

Note: Remote record locks are
maintained by the remote data source (and not by D3). It is also important
to note that some remote data sources do not support record locking
(even though D3 data sources do).

The low-level drivers can be user-written or standard ones as provided by Rocket, including a D3
 remote file driver, a UNIX remote file driver, and a D3 spooler driver. For more information
 about configuring remote system connections and file access, see `hosts file`.

## See also

- [Binary files (glossary)](https://d3codex.com/definitions/binary-files-glossary/)
- [Header files](https://d3codex.com/definitions/header-files/)
- [hosts file](https://d3codex.com/systemfiles/hosts-file/)
- [OSFI](https://d3codex.com/definitions/osfi/)
- [peqs](https://d3codex.com/tcl/peqs/)
- [Pick remote files](https://d3codex.com/definitions/pick-remote-files/)
- [Super Q-pointer](https://d3codex.com/definitions/super-q-pointer/)
- [UNIX files](https://d3codex.com/definitions/unix-files-glossary/)

---
Source: https://d3codex.com/definitions/open-systems-file-interface/ - part of the D3Codex reference.