I’ve always wondered what all of the folder names meant on Linux, and Saturday’s post on Slashdot about the /etc folder answered it.
From the responses:
All the system directories were kept to three letters, and all of the names are abbreviations — none are acronyms.
/adm = administrative (now found in /var/adm)
/bin – binaries
/sbin – system binaries
/dev – devices
/home – user home directories
/lib – libraries
/log = logs (now found in /var/log)
/mnt – temporary mount point
/root – root’s home directory in case /home is on another file system
/var – variable data, such as databases, news, and mail
/tmp – temporary files
/usr – mostly there because it wouldn’t fit on / 😛
/etc – stuff that doesn’t fit any of the above
Neat, huh?
Another neat factoid regarding “/etc”:
Lot of hardcore UNIX guys pronounce it “et-see” because you sound retarded saying, “It’s in “et-cetera-slash-init-period-d” rather than “et-see init-dee”. Same reason people transliterate Ess-Que-Ell (SQL) into “Sequel” …It’s quicker, and it sounds better.
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