Chapter 6. The Linux Filesystem

6. The Linux Filesystem

IN THIS CHAPTER

The Hierarchical Filesystem	166
Directory Files and Ordinary Files	166
The Working Directory	170
Your Home Directory	170
Pathnames	171
Relative Pathnames	172
Working with Directories	178
Access Permissions	180
ACLs: Access Control Lists	185
Hard Links	192
Symbolic Links	194

A filesystem is a set of data structures (page 1028) that usually resides on part of a disk and that holds directories of files. Filesystems store user and system data that are the basis of users' work on the system and the system's existence. This chapter discusses the organization and terminology of the Linux filesystem, defines ordinary and directory files, and explains the rules for naming them. It also shows how to create and delete directories, move through the filesystem, and use absolute and relative pathnames to access files in various directories. It includes a discussion of important files and directories as well as file access permissions and Access Control Lists (ACLs), which allow you to share selected files with other users. It concludes with a discussion of hard and symbolic links, which can make a single file appear in more than one directory.

In addition to reading this chapter, you may want to refer to the df info page and to the fsck, mkfs, and tune2fs man pages for more information on filesystems.