is the majority of your Linux filesystem.Because you re (Web design conference)
is the majority of your Linux filesystem.Because you re running your own Linuxmachine, you need to be familiar with how it s put together especially thesections that are dangerous to mess with! Meet the root directoryEverything in the Linux filesystem is relative to the rootdirectory,which isreferred to as /and is the file-system base, a doorway into all your files don t confuse this with the rootuser, which is the system administrator. Therootdirectory contains a mostly predictable set of subdirectories. Each dis- tribution varies slightly, but certain standards exist to which they all con- form. The standards keep us all sane. If you re interested in these standards, go to www.pathname.com/fhsandlook at the latest version of the rules. Rather than flood you with everything at once, I start by talking about thebase directories, meaning the items you find in /. Table 11-1 lists what youmight find in this base location. (This list can vary some from distribution to distribution.) An asterisk (*) at the end of a description indicates that you shouldn t mess with this directory unless you have a really goodreasonbecause it contains files that are very importantto the functioning of yoursystem. Table 11-1Standard / Contents in LinuxDirectoryContains/binEssential commands that everyone needs to use at any time* /bootThe information that boots the machine, including your kernel* /devThe device drivers for all the hardware that your system needsto interface with* /etcThe configuration files for your system* /homeThe home directories for each of your users/libThe libraries, or code that many programs (and the kernel) use* /mediaA spot where you add temporary media, such as floppy disksand CD-ROMs; not all distributions have this directory/mntAnother spot where you add temporary media, such as floppydisks and CD-ROMs, along with networked drives and otheritems you aren t permanently adding to your filesystem216Part III:Getting Up to Speed with Linux