From 8a5ecb8151c50e3751b5e6ef573d0282cbf6e6fd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dave Whiteland Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2024 22:57:42 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] update file system "special names" to correct /usr Made some other small changes, but this was mainly to "fix" the misleading "/usr is 'user'" nmemonic. See https://tldp.org/LDP/Linux-Filesystem-Hierarchy/html/usr.html --- collections/_file-system/special-filenames.md | 30 ++++++++++++++----- 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/collections/_file-system/special-filenames.md b/collections/_file-system/special-filenames.md index da35fb2..be7e8db 100644 --- a/collections/_file-system/special-filenames.md +++ b/collections/_file-system/special-filenames.md @@ -17,26 +17,40 @@ Some filenames have special meaning: | name | meaning | | --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `.config`
`.secrets` | Filenames beginning with `.` are [hidden files]({{ site.baseurl }}/files/hidden files) and will not normally be displayed when you ask for a directory listing. | -| `~` | Your home directory.
This is usually the current directory when you first log in. | +| `~` | Your home directory.
This is the current directory when you first log in. If you make or download any files, this is where you usually save them. | | `~olivia` | User `olivia`'s home directory (you won't necessarily have [permission]({{ site.baseurl }}/files/permissions) to look inside it). | Most Unix systems have conventions for the name of system directories too. A few of them are described below. It's a good idea to become familiar with these so you can find your way about. Remember these are only conventions, so -individual systems can — and will — do things differently: +individual systems might do things a little differently: | name | use | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | -| `/bin` | Binary files — files that contain the instructions the machine follows for implementing commands or programs. | -| `/home` | Often the directory containing all the users' home directories. | -| `/sbin` | System binaries, like `/bin` but with executables critical for system operation.| -| `/tmp` | Temporary files | -| `/usr` | "User" files — generally more for the users than the system. | +| `/bin` | Binary files — files that contain the instructions the machine follows for implementing commands or fundamental utilities. | +| `/dev` | Devices — file representations of things like printers and terminals. | +| `/home` | The directory containing each user's home directory. For example, Olivia's home directory would be `/home/olivia` (which is the [absolute file path](../absolute-paths) of `~olivia`, above). | +| `/sbin` | System binaries, like `/bin` but with executables critical for system operation. | +| `/tmp` | Temporary files. | +| `/usr `1 | Executables, libraries, and shared resources that are not part of the core system. | | `/var` | "Variable" files — files expected to change a lot. | | `/var/log` | System log files. | | `/var/tmp` | Temporary files. | - +Note that these are all conveniently expressed as +[absolute file paths](../absolute-paths): they are found in the +[root directory](../root). + +

1 + Originally, /usr + was an abbreviation for "user" because it contained the users' files, but in + today's Unix systems that's what the + /home directory is + for. So it's more helpful to remember + /usr as an + abbreviation of "user system resources". If you install a new application, + it probably ends up here. +