Can You Explain Linux Directory Terminology?

To navigate your Linux file system, there are several terms you should understand.

Current directory The directory you are in at a given time, sometimes called the current working directory. The pwd (print working directory) command will tell you the name of the current directory. Subdirectory A directory within the current directory.

Parent directory The directory above the current one. Every directory except the top level has a parent. If you are in the /usr/spool directory, then /usr is the parent.

Home directory A user's personal directory. For example, if your user name is hermie, your home directory is /home/hermie. The user normally has complete control over all files stored in directories beneath the home directory. Exception: If the root user copies a file to your home directory, root still owns and controls that file.

Root directory The top of the file system, denoted by a slash. Only subdirectories appear below this directory. Don't confuse this with /root, the home directory for the root user. When speaking, always refer to / as "the root directory" and to /root as "slash root."

Absolute file name A file name that is valid no matter where you are in the file hierarchy. In practice, this means it must start with a slash and specify the full path to the file. For example, /home/hermie/recipes/sludge_fudge is an absolute file name, but sludge_fudge is not.

Relative file name A file name that specifies a file relative to the current directory. For example, if you were in hermie's home directory, /home/hermie/, you would reference that healthy fudge recipe as recipes/sludge_fudge.

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Comments - most recent first (Please feel free to answer questions posted by others!) bob smith     (20 Feb 2013, 13:04) Why does cd /.. not produce a "not found" error? Is there any documentation explaining this decision? Works the same on unix and windows. Pete     (28 Aug 2011, 00:06) @aqid / is used to represent the root directory. ~ is used to represent your home directory tarun     (29 Jun 2011, 14:22) hello sir thanks for this information.. kindly tell me the basics in details of directories.. aqid     (06 Oct 2010, 05:47) which symbol is used to represent the root directory??? Bob Rankin     (21 Aug 2010, 17:38) @ganesh - No difference. ganesh     (19 Aug 2010, 07:19) What is the difference between /home and /home/ hpal     (20 May 2010, 22:15) Guys you don't have to be confused on the destination of your directory you will be, when using (.) or (..) (.) Simply denotes the current folder/directory (..) Simply denotes the parent directory / When use without . or .. as prefix. It means root directory or folder As explained on other section on this site, each folder represents a branch of a tree, and the root itself is the tree. Files are treated as leaves. That is why using multiple combination of ../ will move back to the each parent, depending on the number of times being called. And if using cd ../ with no parent will always go to the root. Kurt     (22 Mar 2010, 21:23) cd../.. gives an error message cd ../.. moves back two places to home cd ../../.. moves back three places cd ../../../.. still only moves back three places because we can't go back any further J     (09 Mar 2010, 12:45) No.....I think that now the directory should be home/jvale04922. Bob Rankin     (02 Mar 2010, 05:19) A trick question! You're still in the same directory. Do you know why? joey     (01 Mar 2010, 09:22) if my current directory is: $ pwd home/jvale04922/irm230 and i excecute the command $ cd../.. What directory am i in now? I welcome your comments. However... I am puzzled by many people who say "Please send me the Linux tutorial." This website *is* your Linux Tutorial! Read everything here, learn all you can, ask questions if you like. But don't ask me to send what you already have. :-) NO SPAM! If you post garbage, it will be deleted, and you will be banned. *Name: Email: Notify me about new comments on this page Hide my email *Text:

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