Linux File System

Characteristics of a Linux File System.

The Linux file system has the following characteristics:

Linux shares file system characteristics with operating systems like

 Windows in some areas but differ from Windows in other aspects. For example: like Windows, a
 Linux file system, has all its files and directories organized in a tree-like structure but
 unlike Windows, there are no drive letters (C: or D:) on a Linux file system (instead all
 removable and non-removable devices are available and accessible from the /dev directory on
 Linux). Similarly, both Linux and Windows have files and directories, but Windows refers
 to them as files and folders. So, a folder in Windows is a called a directory in Linux. We use
 the Linux terminology in these notes.

In a Linux file sytem all files and directories appear under a single

 parent file (called root),however, unlike Windows, even multiple storage devices appear under
 the same root file in a Linux file system.

Everything within the Linux file system is considered a file. This means

 directories in Linux are a special kind of file that can hold zero or more files (including
 nested subdirectories) in them.

As mentioned above, all files within the Linux file system are organized in a tree-like structure and this is why a Linux file system is commonly referred to as a hierarchical file system.

What is a Hierarchical File System?

In Linux (or any Unix for that matter) the root directory (denoted by /) is source (or uppermost) directory at the top of all other directories and files. This means all other files, child, and grandchild directories are shown as descendants of that single root directory. This hierarchical structure resembles an 'upside-down tree'. There is actually a command called tree that can display an upside-down tree-like diagram of the Linux (Unix) file system as shown below:

   # display files and directories below root (/) with the tree command
   $ tree /
   /
   |-home
   | |-les
   | |-mark
   | |-uli101
   | ...
   |
   |-bin
   | |-nled
   |
   ....

In the code shown above, the $ refers to the prompt that waits for you to type something. That's where you type the command tree; some sample output of the command tree is shown below (notice the leading root directory, i.e. / at the top of the output following the tree command).

This course will teach you the skills you require to navigate the directory tree in a Linux file system because learning command-line navigation of the file system is essential for efficient system usage and administration.

Some Unix/Linux directories directly below root

A sample of some of the commonly found subdirectories that lie below the root directory (/) is shown in the table below. The table includes a brief description of the purpose of that subdirectory.

`/`	Root directory (ancestor to all directories)
`/home`	Used to store usersf home directories
`/bin`	Common system binaries (commands)
`/dev`	Device files (terminals, printers, etc.)
`/etc`	General System Admin. Files (eg passwd)
`/usr/bin`	Common utilities (commands) for users
`/usr/sbin`	Common utilities for user administration
`/tmp`, `/var/tmp`	Temporary files for programs
`/var`	Dynamic files (log files)

Home directory

Almost every user in a Linux file system gets a 'home' directory when their account was created.

This is where the users keep their personal files

The ~ symbol represents the home directory of the logged in user.

The ~ symbol may be used in file pathnames. More about file pathnames later.

The cd command when used without any other parameters gets you into your home directory no matter

 where you previously were in the Linux file system.

As Linux is a multi-user filesystem, remember to keep your files private. You shall learn how to

 do this in a later class.

Types of Files

On a Unix/Linux file system a 'file' can be anything. To an average computer user a file is a container for: a text document, video, music, photo and so on.

A directory is a special type of file (index file) containing references to other file locations on the physical disc or to other file related information. Even devices like a terminal, a scanner, or a printer are also files. You will learn more details about these types of files later in this course. Any file (or directory) name starting with a period (such as . or ..) is considered a hidden file (or directory). You can use the ls -l command to determine the type of file.

For Example:

   $ ls -l /dev/tty
   crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 5, 0 2003-03-14 08:07 /dev/tty
   
   $ ls -l monday.txt w1.c
   -rw-r--r-- 1 someuser users 214 2006-01-23 14:20 monday.txt
   -rw-r--r-- 1 someuser users 248 2005-10-12 13:36 w1.c
   
   $ ls -ld uli101
   drwxr-xr-x 2 someuser users 4096 2006-01-17 16:43 uli101

Notes for listing above:

Use the -l option of the ls command to get detailed information about a file.

Use the -ld option of the ls command to get detailed information for just the directory.

The first character in detailed listing determines the file type, so:

 * - indicates a regular file
 
 * b or c indicates a device file
 
 * d indicates a directory file

Hidden Files

What are hidden files?

A filename that begins with a '.' is a hidden file. So, if a filename name starts with a '.' as its first character, like .profile for example, it is a considered to be a hidden file by Linux commands and is suppressed from the normal listing of files. See the examples shown below:

   $ pwd
   /home/murray
   
   $ ls
   uli101.txt
   
   $ ls -a
   . .. .profile uli101.txt
   
   $ ls -A
   .profile uli101.txt

In the file listing shown above

pwd displays the present working directory. This command is used to display where on in the Linux

 file system the logged in user is presently working in. In the example shown above, that location
 is /home/murray

ls displays the normal listing of file, i.e. all non-hidden files in the present working directory

 (this is usually abbreviated to pwd in these notes).

ls -a displays all files, i.e. hidden and non-hidden files, in the present working directory. In

 the listing of ls -a the first two items (i.e. '.' and '..') are hidden directories to indicate
 the present working directory (the item: '.') and the item '..' indicates the parent directory of
 the present working directory. Both (. and ..) are found in every directory in the Linux file
 system. They cannot be removed, by any user, because both these directories are required for the
 internal working of the Linux file system.

ls -A displays 'almost' all files, that is all hidden files like .profile except the first two

 items . and ... This means . and .. are never shown within the ls -A output listing.

Why hide files?

To clean up directories.

To hide backups.

To protect important files from accidental deletion.

Since directories are really files, you can hide them as well.

Working With The File System

Be very careful when working with files on the command line, as there is no undo command or a

 Trash/Recycling Bin
 
 * A single command can wipe out your entire account
 
 * Changes are instant and permanent

Make backups of important files, preferably outside of your account - USB storage is a good option

You will learn later additional ways to control file access through file permissions which will help you prevent accidental file damage or deletion

Basic Commands

Displays the user's present working directory to show where the user is located on the

 computer system in order to build directories, copy files, etc

Changes pwd to /path/to/dir. Entering the cd command without the directory path

 will change to the userfs home directory.

Displays the contents of a directory (eg. regular files or sub-directories). By default, the

 ls command displays non-hidden filenames only.  The following are common
 options associated with the ls command: -a short display of hidden & non-hidden
 files -l detailed display of files excluding hidden files -F displays / after
 directory, \* after executable file Options can be combined, for example: ls -la
 (or ls -l -a)

Creates a subdirectory with a directory. Multiple arguments can be used to

 create many subdirectories. The option .p allows for parent directories to be created.

Removes only empty directories (i.e. directories that contain no

 subdirectories or regular files). A user cannot remove a directory from within the directory
 location itself.

Moves a file from one location to another and/or rename the file. The mv command

 can be used to move directories as well as files. The -i option asks for confirmation if the
 destination filename already exists.

Copies a file from one location to another. The cp command can be used to backup

 important files.  The -i option asks for confirmation if the destination
 filename already exists.  The -r option allows copying of directories and their
 contents

Removes a regular file. The -r option is used to recursively remove a

 directory and it's contents. Recursive means to descend to lower levels, which in this case,
 indicates that subdirectories and it contents are also removed. Note: it is a good idea to include
 the .i option to confirm deletion of subdirectories and its contents!

To join files (i.e. to concatenate files). For example, cat file1 file2 file3 will

 display the contents of file1 and file2 and file3 on the screen at the same
 time.  To display the contents of small files (files longer than the screen
 will scroll to the end). For example, issuing the command cat .bash_profile in
 your home directory would display the contents of your setup file.

Displays the contents of large regular files one screen at a time. The

 user can navigate throughout the file by pressing keys such as:

spacebar	Move to next screen
b	Move to previous screen
enter	Move to next line
/car	Search for pattern "car"
q	Exit to shell

Works like more command.

Updates the date and time of existing files. The touch command is also used

 to create empty files. You will be using the touch command to create empty
 files when you practice the file management on-line tutorial

Determines a file type Useful when a particular file has no file extension or the

 extension is unknown/incorrect

The find Command

The find command allows searching for files by file name, size as well as file attributes recursively throughout the file system. An optional action can be performed on matches

   #Search for a file named bob:
   find / -name bob
   
   # Delete empty files belonging to user alice:
   find / -user alice -empty -delete
   
   # Find all files modified less than 5 minutes ago:
   find / -mmin -5
   
   # Find large files
   find . -size +100M

File Naming

Unix/Linux is case sensitive!

Adopt a consistent file naming scheme . this will help you find your files later

Make your file and directory names meaningful

Avoid non alphanumeric characters, as they have a special meaning to the system and will make your work more difficult

Avoid using spaces in file names . consider periods, hyphens and underscores instead

Feel free to use file name extensions to describe the file purpose

Getting Help with Commands

A comprehensive online manual for common UNIX/Linux commands exists on your server

The online manual is a command called man

   # show man page of ls command
   $ man ls

   man [options] command
   
   Options:
   
   -k provides short (one-line) explanation relating to the commands matching the character string.
      This can be used if user doesn't know name of command.

Text Editing

Editing text files is an everyday activity for both users as well as administrators on a Unix and Linux system

System configuration files

Scripts and programs

Documentation

Web pages

As the GUI may not always be available, knowing command-line text editors is a very valuable skill.

Although both Unix/Linux and Windows use ASCII to encode text files, there are small differences that may cause problems (particularly with scripts) when copying files between different systems:

If needed, use the unix2dos and dos2unix utilities to convert between the two systems

A specific system may have many editors available and as you work with one for a while you will

 probably pick a favourite one

A traditional fall-back is the vi editor, as it is most likely to be present on all Unix-like

 systems, especially when installed with a minimum software complement

Consider knowing vi as one of many badges of a competent Unix/Linux user

Vi has a relatively steep learning curve and is not user friendly, but it offers nice advanced

 features which will be introduced later in the course
 
 (Visual) Editor

vi is a powerful, interactive, visually-oriented text editor with these features:

Efficient editing by using keystrokes instead of mouse.

Use of regular expressions

Possibility to recover files after accidental loss of connection

Features for programmers (eg. line numbering, auto-indent, etc)

Although you may prefer to use other editors (such as nano or nled), knowing vi is very useful, as

 this is one editor that is present on all Unix-like systems

Starting vi Session

There are two ways to start an editing session with vi:

vi filename is recommended when filename has already been assigned and changes will be saved

 to filename by entering ZZ while in vi.

vi to start a new file editing session, when filename is not assigned to a file. therefore user

 has to type <ESC> :w filename <ENTER> in order to save file.

Modes

There are three operational modes while using the vi editor:

User presses letter for a command. for example, input text, delete text, append text, etc.

Input Mode allows user to enter or edit text. Press ESC to return to command mode.

Pressing colon g:h opens a prompt to enter letter or word commands. More complex operations such as search and replace can be performed.

Moving in Command Mode

You can move around to text in the screen by using the following keys:

h	left
j	down
k	up
l	right
w	right one word to special character
W	right one word including special characters
b	left one word to special character
B	left one word including special characters
0 (zero)	beginning of line
$	end of line

You may be able to move around by using the arrow keys (depends on version of vi).

For more advanced editing, you can return to Command Mode and use appropriate editing commands.

Getting into Input Mode

While in command mode, you can issue the following commands to input text:

i	insert to left of cursor
I	insert at beginning of line
o	insert line below current line
0	insert line above current line
a	append to right of cursor
A	append at end of current line
r	replace character
R	overwrite text

Common Editing Commands

x	Delete single character
d	Delete
c	Change
y	Yank (copy)
p	paste below cursor
P	paste above cursor
u	undo previous edit
.	repeat previous edit

Editing commands can be preceded with a number, for example:
3x = delete the next three characters
2u = undo the last two edits
12dd = delete 12 lines

Editing tip
{{{2}}}

Searching

Search for text (in command mode)

/pattern	Search forward for pattern
?pattern	Search backwards for pattern
n	Display next match
//	Repeat previous search

Saving Edited File

Work performed during vi session is stored in a Work Buffer (temporary storage) until the user

 saves their work.

When saving, changes in the work buffer are placed in a new file if creating a new file, or

 changes in work buffer modify existing (previously created) file.

To save your vi session, you must make sure you are in command mode by pressing <ESC>

To save your changes and exit, enter ZZ (i.e. two capital zfs). You could perform the same

 operation in last line mode by :x

You can also save without exiting by entering :w

To save your vi session, you must make sure you are in command mode by pressing <ESC>

To save your changes and exit, enter ZZ (i.e. two capital zfs). You could perform the same

 operation in last line mode by :x

You can also save without exiting by entering :w

Aborting Editing Session

If you make a mistake in your editing session (that undo cannot solve), you can abort your session

 without modifying the contents of your file (dump the work buffer)

To abort the current editing session, press <ESC> :q! <ENTER>

Buzzwords

CLI: command line interface GUI: graphical user interface

File utilities discussed in class

pwd : print working directory tells you where you are in the filesystem ls : list (files in current directory) ls -l: long list files (show all file properties) cd : change directory find: find files clear: clear the screen rm : remove files (delete them - NO UNDO)

Symbols discussed in class

~ : home directory / : root directory (also path separator when not the first char)

Shortcuts discussed

ARROW UP/DN for moving forward or back through command history CTRL+L: clears the screen TAB: completes command (or directory/file name) TAB TAB: shows all completions when not unique

LINUX/UNIX maxims discussed

UNIX is an oral tradition

UNIX is a humble servant but brutal master

You got to know what you are looking for before you find it

No news is good news.

Everything is a file, yes even directories, disks, cdrom, usb, etc.

List of commands used so far

Begin by creating a 'rough_work' directory, as shown below ($ indicates shell prompt)

$ cd $ mkdir uli101 $ cd uli101 $ pwd /home/mark.fernandes/uli101

$ mkdir rough_work $ cd rough_work $ pwd /home/mark.fernandes/uli101/rough_work

Now you can continue as shown in the examples below

File management commands

All of file management stuff falls under the four sub headings:

C: create

 * to create a file use: touch, or a text editor like vi
 
 * for example ($ indicates shell prompt)
   
   $ touch file

R: read (view/look)

 * to look through a file you can use: less, cat
 
 * for example ($ indicates shell prompt):
   
   $ less file
   $ cat file
 
 (since there is nothing in the file you will not see anything)

U: update (copy/move/rename)

 * to copy a file use: cp
 
 * for example ($ indicates shell prompt):
   
   $ cp file file1
   $ cp file1 file11
   $ ls
   file file1 file11
 
 * to move a file use: mv

~~

       $ mv file\* a
       mv: target \`a' is not a directory
       $ mkdir a
       $ mv file\* a
       $ tree
       .
        a
            file
            file1
            file11

1 directory, 3 files ~~

to rename a file use: mv

~~

       $ cp a/\* .
       $ ls
       a  file  file1  file11
       $ mv file1 file4
       $ mv file11 file44
       $ ls
       a  file  file4  file44

~~

D: delete

 * to delete a file use: rm

Directory management commands

C: create

 * to create a directory use: mkdir

R: read (view/look)

 * to look through a directory you can use: ls, echo

U: update (copy/move/rename)

 * to copy a directory use: cp
 
 * to move a directory use: mv
 
 * to rename a directory use: mv

D: delete

 * to delete an empty directory use: rmdir
 
 * to delete a non-empty directory use: rm -r

List of symbols used thus far

all files (in shell globbing)

? any character (in shell globbing) . current directory .. parent directory ~ home directory / root directory, and path separator

This file is used for the week 2 practice quiz. The PDF file with all the questions are in:

/home/mark.fernandes/uli101/weekly_notes/wk2practice.pdf

Complete all ten questions of the practice quiz to help you understand the main concepts of week 2. You can ask your friends or the teacher for any of the answers to the quiz.

Remember Linux/UNIX is all about knowing the commands and using them correctly, so understand the questions asked and the answers. It is always possible that there might be one or more ways of answering some of the questions asked. Knowing all the ways to do something is not as important as knowing at least one way correctly.

File utilities discussed in this section

There are many utilities you will discover as you learn ULI101. Here are some of the most common ones discussed here.

   pwd    #   print working directory tells you where you are in the filesystem
   ls     #   list (files in current directory)
   ls -l  #  long list files (show all file properties)
   cd     #   change directory
   # find   #   find files
   # clear  #  clear the screen
   # rm     #   remove files (delete them - NO UNDO)

CDOT Wiki ^β

Week 2 Notes

Linux File System

Characteristics of a Linux File System.

What is a Hierarchical File System?

Some Unix/Linux directories directly below root

Home directory

Types of Files

Hidden Files

What are hidden files?

Why hide files?

Working With The File System

Basic Commands

The find Command

File Naming

Getting Help with Commands

Text Editing

Consider knowing vi as one of many badges of a competent Unix/Linux user

Starting vi Session

Modes

Moving in Command Mode

Getting into Input Mode

Common Editing Commands

Searching

Saving Edited File

Aborting Editing Session

Buzzwords

File utilities discussed in this section

CDOT Wiki β

Week 2 Notes

Linux File System

Characteristics of a Linux File System.

What is a Hierarchical File System?

Some Unix/Linux directories directly below root

Home directory

Types of Files

Hidden Files

What are hidden files?

Why hide files?

Working With The File System

Basic Commands

The find Command

File Naming

Getting Help with Commands

Text Editing

Consider knowing vi as one of many badges of a competent Unix/Linux user

Starting vi Session

Modes

Moving in Command Mode

Getting into Input Mode

Common Editing Commands

Searching

Saving Edited File

Aborting Editing Session

Buzzwords

File utilities discussed in this section

CDOT Wiki ^β