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>Important System Directories</TITLE
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>Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide: An in-depth exploration of the art of shell scripting</TH
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><H1
><A
NAME="SYSTEMDIRS"
></A
>Appendix I. Important System Directories</H1
><P
>Sysadmins and anyone else writing administrative scripts
        should be intimately familiar with the following system
        directories.</P
><UL
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/bin</TT
></P
><P
>Binaries (executables). Basic system programs
	      and utilities (such as <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>bash</B
>).</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/bin</TT
>

            <A
NAME="AEN23969"
HREF="#FTN.AEN23969"
>[1]</A
>

	    </P
><P
>More system binaries.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/local/bin</TT
></P
><P
>Miscellaneous binaries local to the particular machine.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/sbin</TT
></P
><P
>System binaries. Basic system administrative programs
	      and utilities (such as <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>fsck</B
>).</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/sbin</TT
></P
><P
>More system administrative programs and utilities.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc</TT
></P
><P
><I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>Et cetera</I
>. Systemwide configuration
	      scripts.</P
><P
>Of particular interest are the
	      <A
HREF="system.html#FSTABREF"
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/fstab</TT
></A
>
	      (filesystem table),
	      <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/mtab</TT
>
	      (mounted filesystem table), and the <A
HREF="system.html#INITTABREF"
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/inittab</TT
></A
>
	      files.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/rc.d</TT
></P
><P
>Boot scripts, on Red Hat and derivative distributions
	      of Linux.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/share/doc</TT
></P
><P
>Documentation for installed packages.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/man</TT
></P
><P
>The systemwide <A
HREF="external.html#MANREF"
>manpages</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/dev</TT
></P
><P
>Device directory. Entries (but <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>not</I
></SPAN
>
	      mount points) for physical and virtual devices.
	      See <A
HREF="devproc.html"
>Chapter 29</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/proc</TT
></P
><P
>Process directory. Contains information and statistics
	      about running processes and kernel parameters.
	      See <A
HREF="devproc.html"
>Chapter 29</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/sys</TT
></P
><P
>Systemwide device directory. Contains information and
	      statistics about device and device names. This is newly
	      added to Linux with the 2.6.X kernels.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/mnt</TT
></P
><P
><I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>Mount</I
>. Directory for mounting
	      hard drive partitions, such as <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/mnt/dos</TT
>, and physical
	      devices. In newer Linux distros, the <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/media</TT
> directory has taken
	      over as the preferred mount point for I/O devices.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/media</TT
></P
><P
>In newer Linux distros, the preferred mount point for
	      I/O devices, such as CD/DVD drives or USB flash drives.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/var</TT
></P
><P
><I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>Variable</I
> (changeable) system
	      files. This is a catchall <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"scratchpad"</SPAN
>
	      directory for data generated while a Linux/UNIX machine
	      is running.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/var/log</TT
></P
><P
>Systemwide log files.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/var/spool/mail</TT
></P
><P
>User mail spool.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/lib</TT
></P
><P
>Systemwide library files.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/lib</TT
></P
><P
>More systemwide library files.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/tmp</TT
></P
><P
>System temporary files.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/boot</TT
></P
><P
>System <I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>boot</I
> directory. The kernel,
	      module links, system map, and boot manager reside here.</P
><DIV
CLASS="WARNING"
><TABLE
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><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="common/warning.png"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Warning"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
>Altering files in this directory may result in an
	      unbootable system.</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></LI
></UL
></DIV
><H3
CLASS="FOOTNOTES"
>Notes</H3
><TABLE
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><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
WIDTH="5%"
><A
NAME="FTN.AEN23969"
HREF="systemdirs.html#AEN23969"
>[1]</A
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
WIDTH="95%"
><P
>Some early UNIX systems had a fast, small-capacity fixed
	      disk (containing <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/</TT
>,
	      the root partition), and a second drive which
	      was larger, but slower (containing <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr</TT
> and other
	      partitions). The most frequently used programs and
	      utilities therefore resided on the small-but-fast
	      drive, in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/bin</TT
>,
	      and the others on the slower drive, in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/bin</TT
>.</P
><P
>This likewise accounts for the split between
	      <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/sbin</TT
> and
	      <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/sbin</TT
>,
	      <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/lib</TT
> and <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/usr/lib</TT
>, etc.</P
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