Appendix B. What s What and What s Where


Appendix B. What's What and What's Where

As you're using Unix, you'll undoubtedly encounter files that look important or directories that look interesting, but it's often hard to know what files belong to which programs, and even harder to figure out what some directories are for. Therefore, we're trying to help out a little with the information in this appendix.

Table B.1 lists important Unix files and directories.

Table B.1. Key Files in Your Unix Environment

FILE NAME

DESCRIPTION

~/.forward

Includes address(es) to forward mail to or redirects mail to a vacation program or to procmail.

~/.newsrc

Includes records of read, unread, and subscribed newsgroups for use by news readers.

~/.procmailrc

Includes configuration information for procmail.

~/.pinerc

Includes configuration information for pine.

~/.mutTRc

Includes configuration information for mutt.

~/.signature

Contains your signature, which is appended to your messages by email programs and news readers.

/etc/bashrc

Systemwide bash resource file shared by all bash users.

/etc/csh.cshrc

Systemwide csh resource file.

/etc/group

System group records.

/etc/ksh.kshrc

Systemwide configuration files for ksh users.

/etc/passwd

System passwords and user records.

/etc/profile

Systemwide configuration file used by bash and ksh.

/etc/skel

Original configuration files placed into the home directory of new users.

~/.bash_profile

Primary personal configuration file for bash users.

~/.cshrc

Resource file for csh users.

~/.kshrc

Configuration file for ksh users.

~/.login

Configuration file for csh users in a login shell.

~/.profile

Primary configuration file for ksh users; used by bash if .bash_profile isn't available.

~/.zlogin

Configuration file for zsh users in a login shell.

~/.zshrc

Resource file for zsh users.

~/.zprofile

Configuration file for zsh users.

~/.zshenv

Environment file for zsh users.

~/mail

Mail directory customarily used by pine.

~/Mail

Mail directory customarily used by system mailer and mutt.

Makefile

Includes configuration information used by make to compile and install new software.

README

Includes important information, usually distributed with a new program or script, about installation or usage.


Table B.2 lists the contents of common Unix directories. In practice, the contents of these directories (and their existence) vary greatly by system, but the configuration described here is fairly standard.

Table B.2. Common Unix Directories and Their Contents

DIRECTORY

CONTENTS

/bin

Essential programs and commands for use by all users.

/boot

Files that the system boot loader uses.

/dev

Devices (CD-ROM, serial ports, etc.) and special files.

/etc

System configuration files and global settings.

/etc/skel

Template configuration files for individual users.

/etc/X11

Configuration files and information for the X Window System.

/home

Home directories for users.

/lib

Essential shared libraries and kernel modules.

/mnt

Mount point for temporarily mounted file systems.

/opt

Directory for add-on application software packages.

/proc

Location of kernel and process information (virtual file system).

/root

Home directory for the root user/system administrator.

/sbin

Essential programs and commands for system boot.

/tmp

Temporary files.

/usr/bin

Commands and programs that are less essential for basic Unix system functionality than those in /bin but were installed with the system.

/usr/include

Standard include files and header files for C programs.

/usr/lib

Libraries for programming and for installed packages.

/usr/local

Most files and data that were developed or customized on the system.

/usr/local/bin

Locally developed or installed programs.

/usr/local/man

Manual (help) pages for local programs.

/usr/local/src

Source code for locally developed or installed programs.

/usr/sbin

Additional nonessential standard system binaries.

/usr/share

Shared (system-independent) data files.

/usr/share/dict

Word lists.

/usr/share/man

Manual (help) pages for standard programs.

/usr/share/misc

Miscellaneous shared system-independent data.

/usr/src

Source code for standard programs.

/usr/X11R6

X Window System, Version 11 Release 6.

/usr/X386

X Window System, Version 11 Release 5, on x86 platforms.

/var

Changeable data, including system logs, temporary data from programs, and user mail storage.

/var/account

Accounting logs, if applicable.

/var/adm

Administrative log files and directories.

/var/cache

Application-specific cache data.

/var/cache/fonts

Locally generated fonts.

/var/cache/man

Formatted versions of manual pages.

/var/crash

Information stored from system crashes, if applicable.

/var/games

Variable game data.

/var/lock

Lock files created by various programs.

/var/log

Log files and directories.

/var/mail

User mailbox files.

/var/run

Run-time variable files.

/var/spool

General application spool data.

/var/spool/cron

Contains cron and at job schedules.

/var/spool/lpd

Line-printer daemon print queues.

/var/spool/mail

Contains incoming mail for users.

/var/state

Variable state information for the system.

/var/state/editorname

Editor backup files and state information.

/var/state/misc

Miscellaneous variable data.

/var/tmp

Temporary files that the system keeps through reboots.

/var/yp

Database files that the Network Information Service (NIS) uses.





Unix(c) Visual Quickstart Guide
UNIX, Third Edition
ISBN: 0321442458
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 251

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