Linux and the file system

While it's not news for most people I'm studying the detail of the Linux file system. It's interesting to know about the details, so I wrote up some listings I read in my Ubuntu book.

/bin - binaries that are used by admins and normal users. Commands such as cp, mkdir.

/sbin - binaries that are used only by admins or uses with higher privileges. Such as mkfs.

/lib - core system libraries that are used for the boot process.

/usr - Short for UNIX System Resource, storing all of the noncritical binaries for the system. Normally files here do not change and normally stay the same.

/usr/bin - similar to /bin but stores binaries that are not as important.

/usr/lib - program libraries.

/usr/local - used by the admin to install software locally.

/opt - similar to /usr/local, some applications install here while others use /usr/local.

/boot - files for the GRUB and boot configs.

/etc - configuration files for system admins.

/var - files that are variable in size, such as log files.

/var/log - system logs.

/var/spool - directories for contabs, print spools and mail spools.

/var/www - root directory for web servers.

/home - location of the home directory for users.

/root - home directory reserved just for the root user.

/dev - location of the device files.

/mnt - location of the mount disk or device for temp use.

/media - similar to /mnt but typically used for removable media such as CD-ROM or USB flash.

/proc - virtual file system that resides in memory, live system information.

/sys - virtual file system that holds information about devices and drivers on the system.

/tmp - are for storing data on a short term.

For more detail about each file location visit the site Linux Filesystem Hierarchy which has a great amount of information.