This section describes how to work with your files and folders.
File systems are organized in a hierarchical, tree-like structure. The highest level of the file system is the / or root directory. In this design philosophy, everything is considered a file, including hard disks, partitions, and removable media. All files and directories (including other disks and partitions) exist under the root directory.
For example, /home/jebediah/cheeses.odt shows the correct full path to the cheeses.odt file that exists in the jebediah directory that is under the home directory, which, in turn, is under the root (/) directory.
Underneath the root (/) directory, is a set of important system directories that are commonly used. The following list describes common directories that are directly under the root (/) directory:
/etc – Configuration files, startup scripts, and so on
/home – Local users' home directories
/bin – Important binary applications
/boot – Files that are required to boot the computer
/dev – The device files
/lib – System libraries
/lost+found – Provides a lost and found system for files that exist under the root (/) directory
/opt – Provides a location for optional applications to be installed
/proc – Special dynamic directory that maintains information about the state of the system, including currently running processes
/media – Mounted (loaded) removable media such as CDs, digital cameras, and so on
/mnt – Mounted file systems
/root – Root user home directory, pronounced "slash-root"
/sbin – Important system binaries
/srv – Provides a location for data used by servers
/sys – Contains information about the system
/tmp – Temporary files
/usr – Applications and files that are mostly available for all users to access
/var – Variable files such as logs and databases