Hot folder

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The term archive folder or English hot folder is the common term for a "monitored folder" in the IT sector. From a technical point of view, a hotfolder is a unidirectional interface for interprocess communication.

A hotfolder used to be a workaround to allow two or more programs that do not have a direct interface to communicate via the file system. Process 1 output was reflected in changes made to a specific folder in the file system. Process 2 monitored this folder, which thus became a hot folder, and was able to react to the outputs from Process 1. In this case, monitoring means that process 2 checks the contents of the folder for changes at periodic intervals; the periodic polling of an interface is called polling .

Current operating systems provide API functions for monitoring folders. This has the advantage that communication no longer takes place via the file system but via the operating system. Another advantage is that a program that is supposed to react to changes in a directory no longer has to monitor (query) it itself, which means that correspondingly programmed programs can react more quickly to changes in the hotfolder while using less system resources.

The automatic creation of PDF files from PostScript files, which are stored in a directory (in this case a hotfolder), is a possible application for a hotfolder.

The use of hot folders is usually in the context of work processes ( workflow ) and accelerate them.