Chapter 15: Understanding Linux Files and Users

Overview

Most of us are used to dealing with files—the things that live on our hard disks, floppies, and CD-ROMs, and contain data and program code. It should come as no surprise that Linux has its own file structure, which is different from Windows, in terms of where data is stored and also the underlying technology.

Mimicking Unix before it, SUSE Linux takes the concept and use of the file system to extremes when compared to Windows. To SUSE Linux, almost everything is treated as a file: your PC's hardware, network computers connected to your PC, information about the current state of your computer… almost everything finds a home within the Linux file system.

Linux places an equal emphasis on the users of the system. They own the various files and can decide who can and cannot access various files they create.

In this chapter, we'll delve into users, files, and permissions. You'll be introduced to how SUSE Linux handles files and how files are tied into the system of user accounts.