Hierarchy

In short: A hierarchy is a ranking with superior and subordinate levels.

In more detail: You find it in companies (boss, department head, employee), in file systems (folders and subfolders) and in inheritance.

In Depth

Examples from IT

• File system: root directory with folders.
• Inheritance: superclass and subclasses (inheritance).
• DNS: root, top-level domain, domain (DNS).
• Rights: admin before standard user.

Shown as a tree structure, in companies as an organisation chart.

See also: Organisation Chart, Inheritance, DNS