230 CHAPTER 14 UNDERSTANDING LINUX FILES (Web site translator) AND
230 CHAPTER 14 UNDERSTANDING LINUX FILES AND USERS directories themselves. You might be able to modify or execute programs contained within the directory, but this will depend on the permissions of each individual file. Table 14-3 provides a brief description of what each directory and file in the Ubuntu root file system contains. This is for reference only; there s no need for you to learn this information. The Ubuntu file system broadly follows the principles in the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, as do most versions of Linux, but it does have its own subtleties. Note The -> symbol in Table 14-3 indicates a symbolic link, which is similar to what Windows refers to as a shortcut. Table 14-3. Directories and Files in the Ubuntu Root File System Directory Contents bin Vital tools necessary to get the system running or for use when repairing the system and diagnosing problems boot Boot loader programs and configuration files (the boot loader is the menu that appears when you first boot Linux) cdrom -> media/cdrom Symbolic link (shortcut) to the entry for the CD or DVDROM drive in the /dev folder (accessing this file will let you access the CD-ROM drive) devbootstrap Contains files generated during the installation of Ubuntu dev Virtual files representing hardware installed on your system etc Central repository of configuration files for your system home Where each user s personal directory is stored initrd.img -> boot/initrd.img-2.6.12-9-386 Symbolic link to the initial ramdisk, which is used to boot Linux lib Shared system files used by Linux as well as the software that runs on it lost+found Folder where salvaged scraps of files are saved in the event of a problematic shutdown and subsequent file system check media Where the directories representing various mounted storage systems are made available (including Windows partitions on the disk) mnt Directory in which external file systems can be temporarily mounted opt Software that is theoretically optional and not vital to the running of the system (many software packages you use daily can be found here) proc Virtual directory containing data about your system and its current status root The root user s personal directory sbin Programs essential to administration of the system