Linux File System - simple

Linux File System 

    A Linux file system is a structured collection of file on a disk drive or a partition. A partition is a segment of memory and contains some specific data. In our machine, There can be various partitions of the memory. Generally, every partition, every partition contains a File system. 

Such as I/O devices, Storage devices etc., are all treated as file.

The Linux file system, contains the following sections: 

The root directory ( / ).

A specific data storage format ( EXT3, EXT4, BTRFS, XFS and so on ).

A partition or logical volume having a particular file system. 

What is the UNIX / Linux File System?

Linux file system is generally a built-in layer of a Linux operating system used to handle the data management of the storage. It helps to arrange the file on the disk storage. it manages the file name, file size, creation data, and much more information about a file. 

it we have an unsupported file format in out file system, we can download software to deal with it. 

Linux File System Directory Structure  

Linux file system has a Hierarchal file structure as it contains a root ( / ) directory and its sub-directories ( Like an upside-down tree ). All other directories can be accessed from the rood directory. A partition usually has only one file system, but it may have more than one file system. 

A Unix / Linux file system is a collection of files and directories that has the following properties - 

• It has a root directory ( / ) that contains other files and directories. 
• Each file or directory is uniquely identified by its name, the directory in which it resides, and a unique identifier, typically called an inode.
• By convention, the root directory has an inode number of 2 and the lost + found directory has an inode number of 3. Inode number 0 and 1 are node used. File numbers can be seen by specifying the -i option to ls command.
• It is self-contained. There are no dependencies between one filesystem and another. 
• The directories has specific purposes and generally hold the same types of information for easily locating files. Following are the directories that exist on the major version of Linux / Unix - 

Fig :- Linux file system Directory Structure.

Fig :- Linux / Unix File System Directory structure GUI

/root :- 

root is the home directory of the superuser ( also known as the " Administrator " ) of the system. It is separate from the rest of the users home directories BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO TOUCH IT. Keep you own staff in you own directories, people.

/bin :- 

This directory contains executable program files ( Binary files). In this directory, one can find the file for the Linux Commands.

/boot :-

/boot directory contains files required for stating your system. Do i have to say this? Okey, I'll say it: DO NOT TOUCH!. If you mess up one of the files in her, you may not be able to run your Linux and it is a pain to repair. 

/dev :- 

 This directory contains the special device files. 

For example, the printer may be a file knows as prn in this directory, the hard disk may be hda file and its first partition would be hda(). 

/etc :- 

This directory contains all all system-wide configuration information as text files.

/home :- 

/home is where you will find your user's personal directories.

/lib :- 

This directory contains the library files. Library files contain the reusable functions and routines for the programmer to user. 

/mnt :- 

The /mnt directory, however, it a bit remnant form days gone by. This is where you would manually mount storage devices or partitions. it is not used very often nowadays.

/opt :-  

The /opt directory is often where software you compile ( that is, you build yourself from source code and do not install form your distribution repositories ) sometimes lands.  

/proc :- 

/proc, like /dev is a virtual directory. it contains information about your computer , such as information about your CPU and the kernel your Linux system system is running.

/run :- 

/run is another new directory. System processes use it to store temporary data for their own neforious reasons This is another one of those DO NOT TOUCH folders.

/usr :- 

This directory contains the home directories of the users, source text for the online manual ( amn ) pages, game and other directories. there is one home directory for each user.

Example :- for a user called "mini", there will be a directory with the some name in usr directory. The directory mini will contain, all the files and sub-directories created by the user "mini".

/srv :- 

The /srv directory contains data for servers. 

/sys :- 

The /sys is another virtual directory like /proc and /dev and also contains information form devices connected to your computer.

/tmp :- 

This directory contains the temporary files, usually placed there by applications that you are running. This files and directories often ( not always ) contain data that an applications doesn't need right now, but may need later on. 

Now Linux Commands for Click here