On Thu 7 October 2004 19:24, David Mamanakis wrote: > Greetings! welcome! > Because I have limited exposure to Unix/Linux I would like to ask a > question about the directory structure of Linux... > When I installed, I used the "auto setup" thing, and let it have at it... > Now I have all kinds of directories like "\" and "\root" and "\usr"... hey, we're getting somewhere if you're calling them directories and not 'folders'... :-) And incidentally, get used to the idea that the directory delimiter on Linux/UNIX-style systems is a slash /, not a backslash. Just like the internet. :-) > What I would like to know, and feel free to mail me directly, or point me > to a web resource, but I would like to know the windows equivelent of the > linux directories... it doesn't really work like this. The Linux/UNIX way of doing things is to represent your system as a single filesystem tree, so things like c:\\ are unnecessary - it is not important (as an end user, not an admin!) that you know which disc or partition any given file on your system is actually stored on. Your system layout will be approximately thus: / - known as slash or root, the, well, _root_ of your filesystem tree. Every file on your system appears as a entry in a directory somewhere under / /dev - devices: on a linux/UNIX system _everything_ is a file and this applies to hardware as well, it is possible to write directly to a hard drive or a serial port, which are accessed via files in /dev /bin, /usr/bin, /usr/local/bin are typical places for binaries (hence the name) - programs, shell scripts and the like /sbin, /usr/sbin, /usr/local/sbin - binaries that are intended for 'superuser' (root/administrator) use. /etc - configuration files. All (with some very minor exceptions) plain ASCII text. Although many services and programs have GUI configuration tools, you can also configure them by editing text files in here. /home - the most common place for users to keep their files. New users normally get a directory under here named after their login name (e.g. /home/stuart). This is where they can create and keep files. /root - 'root', (aka the superuser) has his/her files here. /opt - often where thirdparty software will install to, in its own subdirectory - the closest thing to the layout of C:\\Program Files that we have. Software that comes with Fedora does not usually make use of this directory at all. these are the main top-level directories on your system. There are others which I have not mentioned yet. incidentally, any directory on the system wiht the exception of /, /etc, /bin, /sbin, /dev can be on a different disk/partition (even a network-mounted volume) > This would help me navigate and get comfortable with the new system... okay. HTH. > I have other questions, but one thing at a time... be aware that it would be a good idea to read the documentation _before_ asking questions that it clearly answers. Good URLS for this are: http://fedorafaq.org http://fedoranews.org http://fedora.redhat.com/docs http://www.tldp.org and, as you may be aware http://www.google.com/linux incidentally, using this link and searching for 'Linux directory structure' gives, as the _first_ result: http://www.comptechdoc.org/os/linux/usersguide/linux_ugfilestruct.html let this be a lesson in avoiding abrupt replies on mailing lists... :-) http://www.linuxquestions.org http://www.linux.com also, Fedora Core is mainly a Red Hat product, RHEL documentation may answer a lot of questions. You can find it at http://www.redhat.com/docs I'm sure others can come up with other suggestions for docs and tutorials. > Thanks for any help, and I look forward to becoming part of the Linux > community! Glad to help. -- Stuart Sears RHCE, RHCX Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
