#(!

04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

Figure 10-7. Your personal area on the hard disk is in the /home directory and is named after your
username.

9OURPARCELWILLBEDECORATEDFROMTHEVERYSTARTWITHSEVERALDEFAULTDIRECTORIESCREATEDWITHTHE
PURPOSEOFORGANIZINGYOURINFORMATIONINALOGICALMANNER4HISISNOTVERYDIFFERENTFROM7INDOWSAS
YOUCANSEEJUSTBYREADINGTHENAMESOFMOSTOFTHOSEDEFAULTDIRECTORIESORBYLOOKINGAT4ABLE 


#(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

Table 10-2. Default Home Folder Subdirectories

Directory Purpose
Desktop 4HISFOLDERHASTHECONTENTOFYOURDESKTOP%VERYDOCUMENTYOUPLACEINTHIS
FOLDERWILLAPPEARONYOURDESKTOP4HISISLIKETHE7INDOWS$ESKTOPFOLDER

Documents ,IKE7INDOWS-Y$OCUMENTSFOLDERTHISISTHEDEFAULTDIRECTORYFORSTORING

PERSONALDOCUMENTS/PEN/FFICEORGSAVESITSDOCUMENTSINTHISDIRECTORY

Downloads 4HISISTHEFOLDERWHERETHEFILESYOUDOWNLOADWITH&IREFOXARESTORED

Music !FOLDERTOSTOREMUSICFILESLIKETHE7INDOWS-Y-USICFOLDER4HOSEFILES

CANBEOPENEDWITH2YTHMBOX

Pictures !FOLDERTOSTOREPICTURES%QUIVALENTTOTHE7INDOWSFOLDER-Y0ICTURES

Public !SPECIALFOLDERINWHICHYOUCANSTORECONTENTTOBESHAREDWITHYOURFAMILY
ORCOLLEAGUES)TISNOTSHAREDBYDEFAULTBUTYOUCANFOLLOWTHEINSTRUCTIONS
GIVENLATERINTHISCHAPTERINORDERTOMAKETHOSEFILESACCESSIBLETHROUGHTHE
NETWORK

Templates &OLDERTOSTORETEMPLATESFOR,IBRE/FFICEAPPLICATIONS

Videos &OLDERTOSTOREVIDEOFILESTHATCANBEOPENEDWITHTHE-OVIE0LAYER

Examples 4HISFOLDERISACTUALLYALINKTO/usr/share/example-contentWHEREYOUCAN

FIND,IBRE/FFICESAMPLEDOCUMENTSOGGAUDIOFILESANDMORE

3OMEPROGRAMSMIGHTUTILIZETHOSESUBDIRECTORIESINYOUR/homeDIRECTORYINORDERTOSTOREAND
ORGANIZETHEIROUTPUT&OREXAMPLEADIGITALCAMERAPROGRAMMIGHTUTILIZETHEPicturesDIRECTORYWITHIN
YOUR/homeDIRECTORY)TSUPTOYOUWHETHERYOUUSETHESEORCHANGETHOSESETTINGSINTHEAPPLICATION
/THERAPPLICATIONSMAYCREATEAHIDDENFOLDERINYOURHOME)FYOUINSTRUCT.AUTILUSTOSHOWHIDDEN
FILESYOUALREADYKNOWHOW YOUWILLSEESEVERALFOLDERSTHATWEREHIDDENBYDEFAULTWHEREAPPLICATIONS
STORETHEIRDATA&OREXAMPLETHE.mozillaFOLDERISWHERETHE&IREFOXINFORMATIONISSTOREDANDTHE
%VOLUTIONFILESAREIN.evolution
&ILESWITHIN5BUNTUREMEMBERWHOOWNSTHEM)FUSERjohnsmithCREATESAFILEHECANMAKEITSO
THATONLYHECANREADORWRITETHEFILESEE#HAPTERFORMOREDETAILSONFILEPERMISSIONS 4HEDEFAULT
SETTINGISTHATOTHERUSERSWILLBEABLETOREADTHEFILEBUTNOTWRITEANYNEWDATATOIT$IRECTORIESTOO
AREOWNEDBYPEOPLEANDTHEOWNERCANSETACCESSPERMISSIONS"YDEFAULTALLUSERSONASYSTEMCAN
ACCESSEACHOTHERS/homeDIRECTORIESANDREADFILESBUTTHEYCANTCHANGETHEFILESORWRITENEWFILESTO
ANYDIRECTORYWITHIN/homeTHATISNTTHEIRS


 #(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

  Note !NYUSERWITHSUPERUSERPOWERSHASACCESSTOALLOFTHESYSTEMANDCANCREATEEDITANDDELETEFILESIN

ALLDIRECTORIES4HISISSOTHESUPERUSERCANPERFORMESSENTIALSYSTEMMAINTENANCE

Understanding File System Concepts

.OWTHATYOUHAVEBEENPLAYINGWITH.AUTILUSFORALITTLEWHILEANDFOUNDITTOBEVERYMUCHLIKE
7INDOWS%XPLORERYOUMIGHTBEWONDERINGWHETHERTHEFILESYSTEMCONCEPTSINBOTHOPERATINGSYSTEMS
AREEXACTLYTHESAME
*USTLIKE7INDOWS5BUNTUHASAFILESYSTEMTHATISSHAREDBETWEENSOFTWARECOMPONENTSANDYOUR
OWNPERSONALDATAWHICHYOUGENERATEWITHYOURAPPLICATIONSORDOWNLOADFROMTHE)NTERNET(OWEVER
5BUNTUDIFFERSFROM7INDOWSINACOUPLEOFIMPORTANTWAYS

4HE&ILE3YSTEM%XPLAINED
9OUMIGHTALREADYHAVEVENTUREDBEYONDTHE/homeDIRECTORYANDWANDEREDTHROUGHTHEFILESYSTEM9OU
NODOUBTFOUNDITTHOROUGHLYCONFUSINGLARGELYBECAUSEITSNOTLIKEANYTHINGYOUREUSEDTO4HEGOOD
NEWSISTHATITSNOTACTUALLYVERYHARDTOUNDERSTAND)FNOTHINGELSEYOUSHOULDBEAWARETHATNEARLY
EVERYTHINGCANBEIGNOREDDURINGEVERYDAYUSE

  Note 4HE5BUNTUFILESYSTEMISREFERREDTOASAhierarchicalFILESYSTEM4HISMEANSTHATITCONSISTSOFALOTOF
DIRECTORIESTHATCONTAINFILES7INDOWSALSOUSESAHIERARCHICALFILESYSTEM5BUNTUREFERSTOTHEVERYBOTTOMLEVEL
OFTHEFILESYSTEMASTHEroot4HISHASNOCONNECTIONWITHTHEROOTUSERORTHEDIRECTORYNAMED/rootWHICHIS
THEPERSONALFILESTORAGEAREAFORTHEROOTUSER

9OUCANACCESSTHEROOTOFTHEFILESYSTEMBYCLICKING&ILE3YSTEMINTHE0LACESPANEIN.AUTILUS
/NLYUSERSWITHADMINISTRATIVEPOWERSCANWRITEFILESTOTHEROOTOFTHEFILESYSTEM4HISISTOPREVENT
DAMAGEBECAUSEMOSTOFTHEDIRECTORIESINTHEROOTOFTHEFILESYSTEMAREVITALTOTHECORRECTRUNNINGOF
,INUXANDCONTAINESSENTIALPROGRAMSORDATA
-OSTDIRECTORIESALLOWALLUSERSTOBROWSETHEMANDACCESSTHEFILESWITHIN9OUJUSTCANTWRITENEW
FILESTHEREORDELETETHEDIRECTORIESTHEMSELVES9OUMIGHTBEABLETOMODIFYOREXECUTEPROGRAMS
CONTAINEDWITHINTHEDIRECTORYBUTTHISWILLDEPENDONTHEPERMISSIONSOFEACHINDIVIDUALFILE
4ABLE PROVIDESABRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFWHATEACHDIRECTORYANDFILEINTHE5BUNTUROOTFILESYSTEM
CONTAINS4HISISFORREFERENCEONLYTHERESNONEEDFORYOUTOLEARNTHISINFORMATION4HE5BUNTUFILE
SYSTEMBROADLYFOLLOWSTHEPRINCIPLESINTHE&ILESYSTEM(IERARCHY3TANDARDASDOMOSTVERSIONSOF
,INUXBUTITDOESHAVEITSOWNSUBTLETIES


4HE&ILESYSTEM(IERARCHY3TANDARDOR&(3ISASTANDARDMAINTAINEDBYTHE,INUX&OUNDATIONAND
DEFINESTHEMAINDIRECTORIESANDTHEIRCONTENTFORTHE,INUX/3


#(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

Table 10-3. Directories and Files in the Ubuntu Root File System

Directory Contents
bin 6ITALTOOLSNECESSARYTOGETTHESYSTEMRUNNINGORFORUSEWHENREPAIRINGTHE
SYSTEMANDDIAGNOSINGPROBLEMS

boot "OOTLOADERPROGRAMSANDCONFIGURATIONFILES4HEBOOTLOADERISTHEMENUTHAT
APPEARSWHENYOUFIRSTBOOT,INUX

cdrom -> 3YMBOLICLINKSHORTCUT TOTHEENTRYFORTHE#$ OR$6$ 2/-DRIVEINTHE/dev

media/cdrom FOLDER!CCESSINGTHISFILELETSYOUACCESSTHE#$ OR$6$ 2/-DRIVE

dev 6IRTUALFILESREPRESENTINGHARDWAREINSTALLEDONYOURSYSTEM

etc #ENTRALREPOSITORYOFCONFIGURATIONFILESFORYOURSYSTEM

lib 3HAREDSYSTEMFILESUSEDBY,INUXASWELLASTHESOFTWARETHATRUNSONIT

lost+found &OLDERWHERESALVAGEDSCRAPSOFFILESARESAVEDINTHEEVENTOFAPROBLEMATIC
SHUTDOWNANDSUBSEQUENTFILESYSTEMCHECK

media 7HERETHEDIRECTORIESREPRESENTINGVARIOUSMOUNTEDSTORAGESYSTEMSAREMADE
AVAILABLEINCLUDING7INDOWSPARTITIONSONTHEDISK 

mnt $IRECTORYINWHICHEXTERNALFILESYSTEMSCANBETEMPORARILYMOUNTED

opt 3OFTWARETHATISTHEORETICALLYOPTIONALANDNOTVITALTOTHERUNNINGOFTHESYSTEM
.ORMALLYTHISDIRECTORYCONTAINSTHIRD PARTYAPPLICATIONSANDOTHERSOFTWARETHAT
ISNOTPARTOFTHEDEFAULTPACKAGESONTHEINSTALLER#$AND5BUNTUREPOSITORIES

proc 6IRTUALDIRECTORYCONTAININGDATAABOUTYOURSYSTEMANDITSCURRENTSTATUS

root 4HEROOTUSERSPERSONALDIRECTORY

sbin 0ROGRAMSESSENTIALTOADMINISTRATIONOFTHESYSTEM

selinux #OMMANDSUSEDINTHE3%,INUXSECURITYSUBSYSTEM

srv #ONFIGURATIONFILESFORANYNETWORKSERVERSYOUMIGHTHAVERUNNINGONYOUR
SYSTEM

sys -OUNTPOINTOFTHESYSFSFILESYSTEMWHICHISUSEDBYTHEKERNELTOADMINISTERYOUR

SYSTEMSHARDWARE

tmp 4EMPORARYFILESSTOREDBYTHESYSTEM


 #(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

Directory Contents
usr 0ROGRAMSANDDATATHATMIGHTBESHAREDWITHOTHERSYSTEMSSUCHASINALARGE
NETWORKINGSETUPWITHMANYUSERS A

var 5SEDBYTHESYSTEMTOSTOREDATATHATISCONSTANTLYUPDATEDSUCHASPRINTER

SPOOLINGOUTPUT

vmlinuz -> boot/ 3YMBOLICLINKTOTHEKERNELFILEUSEDDURINGBOOTUP

vmlinuz-2.6.38-
8-generic

A
4HE/usrDIRECTORYCONTAINSITSOWNSETOFDIRECTORIESTHATAREFULLOFPROGRAMSANDDATA-ANYSYSTEM
PROGRAMSSUCHASTHE8'5)SOFTWAREARELOCATEDWITHINTHE/usrDIRECTORY.OTETHATTHE/usr
DIRECTORYISUSEDEVENIFYOURSYSTEMWILLNEVERACTASASERVERTOOTHERSYSTEMS

TYPES OF FILE SYSTEMS

,INUXISALLABOUTCHOICEANDTHISEXTENDSTOTHETECHNOLOGYTHATMAKESTHEFILESYSTEMWORK5NLIKEWITH
7INDOWSWHERETHEONLYREALCHOICETHESEDAYSIS.4&3,INUXOFFERSMANYTYPESOFFILESYSTEM4HEBASIC
FEATURESOFEVERYFILESYSTEMAREPRESENTINALLTHESETYPESBUTEACHISOPTIMIZEDFORADIFFERENTSETOF
TASKS-OSTAREscalableHOWEVERWHICHMEANSTHATTHEYWILLWORKJUSTASHAPPILYONADESKTOP0#ASON
AMASSIVECLUSTEROFCOMPUTERS
5BUNTUUSESTHEEXTFILESYSTEM4HISISAPOPULARCHOICEAMONGDISTROSANDNEARLYALLHOME OROFFICE
ORIENTEDDISTROSUSEIT4HATSAIDPEOPLEARECONSTANTLYARGUINGABOUTWHICHFILESYSTEMISBEST4HE
PRINCIPALMEASURINGSTICKISPERFORMANCE9OURCOMPUTERSPENDSALOTOFTIMEWRITINGANDREADINGFILESSO
THEFASTERAFILESYSTEMISTHEFASTERYOUR0#WILLBEOVERALLALTHOUGHINREALITYTHEHARDWAREISOFEQUAL
IMPORTANCE 
.OTETHATWHATWERETALKINGABOUTHEREISTHEUNDERLYINGANDINVISIBLETECHNOLOGYOFTHEFILESYSTEM)N
DAY TO DAYUSETHEENDUSERWONTBEAWAREOFANYDIFFERENCEBETWEENEXTREISERFSORANOTHERFILE
SYSTEMTECHNOLOGYALTHOUGHWHENTHINGSGOWRONGDIFFERENTTOOLSAREUSEDTOATTEMPTREPAIRSTHEIR
SELECTIONISAUTOMATEDWITHIN5BUNTU 
(EREARETHEVARIOUSTYPESALONGWITHNOTESABOUTWHATTHEYOFFER
• ext4:5NDERSTANDABLYANDLOGICALLYTHISISANEXTENSIONOFEXT!MONGOTHER
THINGSITFEATURESSUPPORTFORMUCHLARGERHARDDISKSANDISALSOFASTER
• reiserfs:4HISISANOTHERJOURNALINGFILESYSTEMWHICHCLAIMSTOBEFASTERTHAN
OTHERSANDALSOOFFERSBETTERSECURITYFEATURES)THASFALLENOUTOFFAVORINRECENT
YEARS
• jfs:4HISISAJOURNALINGFILESYSTEMCREATEDBY)"-)TSUSEDONINDUSTRIAL
IMPLEMENTATIONSOF5.)8


#(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

• xfs:4HISISA BITJOURNALINGFILESYSTEMCREATEDBY3ILICON'RAPHICS)NC3')

ANDUSEDONITSOWNVERSIONOF5.)8ASWELLAS,INUX
• Btrfs4HE"TRFSPRONOUNCEDbutter fs ISANATTEMPTTOCREATEABRANDNEWFILE
SYSTEMTHATFITSMODERN DAYFILESYSTEMNEEDS)TISSTILLUNDERDEVELOPMENTBUT
WILLEVENTUALLYREPLACETHECURRENTDEFAULT%XTFILESYSTEM
• zfs:!NOTHERNEWFILESYSTEMTECHNOLOGYLIKEEXT ITSMAINBENEFITISSUPPORTFOR
HUGESTORAGESYSTEMS4HISISBECAUSEOFITS BITAPPROACH)TISUSEDINTHE
3UN-ICROSYSTEMS3OLARISAND/PEN3OLARISOPERATINGSYSTEMS!LTHOUGHPOPULARIN
THE3OLARISWORLDTHISFILESYSTEMWILLNEVERBEAVAILABLEFOR,INUX

$RIVE2EFERENCES
0ERHAPSTHEMOSTIMPORTANTDIFFERENCESBETWEEN,INUXAND7INDOWSARETHEFOLLOWING
• 4HE,INUXFILESYSTEMDOESNTUSEDRIVELETTERS
• 4HE,INUXFILESYSTEMUSESAFORWARDSLASH/ INSTEADOFABACKSLASH\ INFILENAME
PATHS
)NOTHERWORDSSOMETHINGLIKE/home/linda/myfileISTYPICALIN5BUNTUASOPPOSEDTOC:\Documents
and Settings\linda\myfileIN7INDOWS4HEROOTOFTHEHARDDISKPARTITIONISUSUALLYREFERREDTOASC:\
IN7INDOWS)N5BUNTUITSREFERREDTOSIMPLYWITHAFORWARDSLASH/ 
)FYOUHAVEMORETHANONEDRIVETHEDRIVESAREUSUALLYCOMBINEDINTOONEFILESYSTEMUNDER,INUX
4HISISDONEBYmountingSOTHATANYADDITIONALDRIVESAPPEARASVIRTUALFOLDERSUNDERTHEFILESYSTEM
)NOTHERWORDSYOUBROWSETHEOTHERHARDDISKSBYSWITCHINGTOVARIOUSDIRECTORIESWITHINTHEMAINFILE
SYSTEM

  Note )FYOUREUSEDTO-AC/38THE5BUNTUFILESYSTEMSHOULDNTCOMEASMUCHOFASURPRISEBECAUSEBOTH

/38AND5BUNTUAREBASEDON5.)8ANDUTILIZESIMILARCONCEPTS

.AMESOF&ILES
!NOTHERIMPORTANTDIFFERENCEBETWEEN5BUNTUAND7INDOWSISTHATFILENAMESIN5BUNTUARECASE
SENSITIVE4HISMEANSTHATMyFileISDISTINCTLYDIFFERENTFROMmyfile5PPERCASELETTERSAREVITALLY
IMPORTANT)N7INDOWSFILENAMESMIGHTAPPEARTOHAVEUPPERCASELETTERSINTHEMBUTTHESEACTUALLYARE
IGNOREDWHENYOURENAMEOROTHERWISEMANIPULATEFILES
"ECAUSEOFTHISCASESENSITIVITYYOUCOULDHAVETWOSEPARATEFILESEXISTINGINTHESAMEPLACEONE
CALLEDMyFileANDANOTHERCALLEDmyfile)NFACTYOUCOULDALSOHAVEmyFileMyfileMYFILEANDSOONAS
SHOWNIN&IGURE 
!SWITH7INDOWSFILENAMESCANHAVESPACESWITHINTHEM4HISMEANSITSPOSSIBLETOHAVEFILEOR
FOLDERNAMESLIKEPictures from DisneylandORparty at bob's house.jpg


 #(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

  Note 9OUMIGHTNOTICETHATSOME,INUXOLD HANDSAVOIDUSINGSPACESINFILENAMESANDUSEANUNDERSCORE

CHARACTER_ ORAHYPHEN- INSTEAD4HISISBECAUSEITSTRICKYTOMANIPULATEFILENAMESWITHSPACESINTHEMATTHE
COMMANDPROMPT

5NLIKEWITH7INDOWSFILENAMESCANINCLUDEVIRTUALLYANYSYMBOLINCLUDINGANASTERISK* 

BACKSLASH\ QUESTIONMARK? LESS THANGREATER THANSIGNS<AND> ANDSOON4HEONLYSYMBOL
THATSPROHIBITEDISTHEFORWARDSLASH/ ANDTHATSBECAUSEITHASASPECIALUSEINFILEPATHSASDESCRIBED
INTHEPREVIOUSSECTION"EAWAREHOWEVERTHATIFYOUWANTTOSHAREFILESWITHCOLLEAGUESRUNNING
7INDOWSYOUSHOULDSTICKTO7INDOWSCONVENTIONSTOAVOIDINCOMPATIBILITIESANDREFRAINFROMUSING
THEFOLLOWINGSYMBOLS\/:*?"<>|
7EHAVEALREADYSTATEDTHATFOLDERSANDFILESSTARTINGWITHADOThv AREMANAGEDASHIDDENSOTHEY
ARENOTDISPLAYEDIN.AUTILUSORINTHETERMINALWINDOW

Figure 10-8. Ubuntu filenames are case sensitive, so many similar filenames can exist, differing only in
which letters are capitalized.


#(!04%2 -!.!').'9/52$!4!

  Note )FYOUTRYTOCOPYAFILEWITHILLEGALSYMBOLSINITSNAMETOA7INDOWSMACHINEACROSSANETWORK5BUNTU

SIMPLYWONTLETYOUANDWILLREPORTAN)NVALID0ARAMETERSERROR)NOUREXPERIENCEITwillLETYOUCOPYAFILEWITH
ILLEGALSYMBOLSINITSNAMETOA7INDOWSPARTITIONHOWEVER4HISRESULTSINTHEFILEBEINGINACCESSIBLEFROMWITHIN
7INDOWSSOBECAREFUL

2EAL&ILESAND6IRTUAL&ILES
,INUXSEESVIRTUALLYEVERYTHINGASASERIESOFFILES4HISMIGHTSOUNDABSURDANDCERTAINLYREQUIRESFURTHER
EXPLANATION
,ETSSTARTWITHTHEEXAMPLEOFPLUGGINGINAPIECEOFHARDWARE7HENEVERYOUATTACHSOMETHINGTOA
53"PORTTHE,INUXKERNELFINDSITSEESWHETHERITCANMAKETHEHARDWAREWORKANDIFEVERYTHINGCHECKS
OUTOKAYITUSUALLYMAKESTHEHARDWAREAVAILABLEASAFILEUNDERTHE/devDIRECTORYONYOURHARDDISKdev
ISSHORTFORdevices &IGURE SHOWSANEXAMPLEOFA/devDIRECTORY
4HEFILECREATEDINTHE/devDIRECTORYISNOTAREALFILEOFCOURSE)TSAFILESYSTEMSHORTCUTPLUMBED
THROUGHTOTHEINPUTANDOUTPUTCOMPONENTSOFTHEHARDWAREYOUVEJUSTATTACHED

  Note !SAUSERYOURENOTEXPECTEDTODELVEINTOTHE/devDIRECTORYANDDEALWITHTHISHARDWAREDIRECTLY-OST

OFTHETIMEYOULLUSEVARIOUSSOFTWAREPACKAGESTHATWILLACCESSTHEHARDWAREFORYOUORUSESPECIAL"!3(
COMMANDSOR'5)PROGRAMSTOMAKETHEHARDWAREAVAILABLEINAMOREACCESSIBLEWAYFORDAY TO DAYUSE