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Directory Tree Overview

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This chapter is waiting a major rewrite

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Give sample contents of important files, e.g. /etc/passwd, /etc/group (not here, in the chapter that discusses the relevant subject)

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Give a sample listing of sensible ownerships and permissions for all the important files, and explain why they are sensible. Explain what must be done in a specific way, and what can be altered to make the system more open or more secure.

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timezone files, /etc/skel.

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mention where files / programs come from, if not typically in the distribution

This chapter contains a quick overview of the most important files and directories on a system. It does not go into detail about the contents of files, only summarizes their purpose, possibly mentions connections to other files and programs, and points to the relevant document that describes things in more detail.

The set of directories and the division of files between directories is based on an assumption that some things are on a root filesystem, the first filesystem that is mounted when when boots, while others are on other filesystems, and that some files need to be accessable before those other filesystems are mounted. The `other' filesystem is usually called /usr , and everything else in the root directory is assumed to be on the root filesystem. While this configuration is not true for all systems, especially systems, it was true when the directory tree was originally designed in the early history of . It is good to understand this, because many things do not otherwise make much sense (e.g. why both /bin and /usr/bin ?).





Ross Biro
Mon May 22 09:14:56 PDT 1995