EXPLORING THE SYSTEM

Now that we know how to move around the filesystem,

its time for a guided tour of our Linux system. Before
we start, however, were going to learn some more
commands that will be useful along the way:

lsList directory contents.

fileDetermine file type.

lessView file contents.

More Fun with ls

ls is probably the most used command and for good reason. With it, we can

see directory contents and determine a variety of important file and directory attributes. As we have seen, we can simply enter ls to see a list of files
and subdirectories contained in the current working directory:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ ls
Desktop Documents Music Pictures

Public

Templates Videos

Besides the current working directory, we can specify the directory to

list, like so:
me@linuxbox ~]$ ls /usr
bin games
kerberos libexec sbin
etc include lib
local
share

src
tmp

or even specify multiple directories. In this example we will list both

the users home directory (symbolized by the ~ character) and the /usr
directory:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ ls ~ /usr
/home/me:
Desktop Documents Music Pictures Public
/usr:
bin games
kerberos libexec sbin src
etc include lib
local
share tmp

Templates Videos

We can also change the format of the output to reveal more detail:
[me@linuxbox
total 56
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2
drwxrwxr-x 2

~]$ ls -l
me
me
me
me
me
me
me

me
me
me
me
me
me
me

4096
4096
4096
4096
4096
4096
4096

2012-10-26
2012-10-26
2012-10-26
2012-10-26
2012-10-26
2012-10-26
2012-10-26

17:20
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:20

Desktop
Documents
Music
Pictures
Public
Templates
Videos

By adding -l to the command, we changed the output to the long

format.

Options and Arguments

This brings us to a very important point about how most commands work.
Commands are often followed by one or more options that modify their
behavior and, further, by one or more arguments, the items upon which
the command acts. So most commands look something like this:
command -options arguments

Most commands use options consisting of a single character preceded

by a dash, such as -l. But many commands, including those from the GNU
Project, also support long options, consisting of a word preceded by two dashes.
Also, many commands allow multiple short options to be strung together. In
this example, the ls command is given two options, the l option to produce
long format output, and the t option to sort the result by the files modification time:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ ls -lt

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Chapter 3

Well add the long option --reverse to reverse the order of the sort:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ ls -lt --reverse

The ls command has a large number of possible options. The most

common are listed in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1: Common ls Options
Option

Long Option

Description

-a

--all

List all files, even those with names that begin

with a period, which are normally not listed
(i.e., hidden).

-d

--directory

Ordinarily, if a directory is specified, ls

will list the contents of the directory, not the
directory itself. Use this option in conjunction
with the -l option to see details about the
directory rather than its contents.

-F

--classify

This option will append an indicator character

to the end of each listed name (for example, a
forward slash if the name is a directory).

-h

--human-readable

In long format listings, display file sizes in

human-readable format rather than in bytes.
Display results in long format.

-l
-r

--reverse

Display the results in reverse order. Normally,

ls displays its results in ascending alphabetical order.

-S

Sort results by file size.

-t

Sort by modification time.

A Longer Look at Long Format

As we saw before, the -l option causes ls to display its results in long format.
This format contains a great deal of useful information. Here is the Examples
directory from an Ubuntu system:
-rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--rw-r--r--

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

root
root
root
root
root
root
root
root
root

root 3576296 2012-04-03 11:05 Experience ubuntu.ogg

root 1186219 2012-04-03 11:05 kubuntu-leaflet.png
root 47584 2012-04-03 11:05 logo-Edubuntu.png
root 44355 2012-04-03 11:05 logo-Kubuntu.png
root 34391 2012-04-03 11:05 logo-Ubuntu.png
root 32059 2012-04-03 11:05 oo-cd-cover.odf
root 159744 2012-04-03 11:05 oo-derivatives.doc
root 27837 2012-04-03 11:05 oo-maxwell.odt
root 98816 2012-04-03 11:05 oo-trig.xls

Exploring the System

15

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root

453764 2012-04-03 11:05 oo-welcome.odt

358374 2012-04-03 11:05 ubuntu Sax.ogg

Lets look at the different fields from one of the files and examine their
meanings in Table 3-2.
Table 3-2: ls Long Listing Fields
Field

Meaning

-rw-rr--

Access rights to the file. The first character indicates

the type of file. Among the different types, a leading
dash means a regular file, while a d indicates a
directory. The next three characters are the access
rights for the files owner, the next three are for members of the files group, and the final three are for
everyone else. The full meaning of this is discussed
in Chapter 9.

Files number of hard links. See the discussion of links

at the end of this chapter.

root

The user name of the files owner.

root

The name of the group that owns the file.

32059

Size of the file in bytes.

2012-04-03 11:05

Date and time of the files last modification.

oo-cd-cover.odf

Name of the file.

Determining a Files Type with file

As we explore the system, it will be useful to know what files contain. To
do this, we will use the file command to determine a files type. As we discussed earlier, filenames in Linux are not required to reflect a files contents. For example, while a filename like picture.jpg would normally be
expected to contain a JPEG compressed image, it is not required to in
Linux. We can invoke the file command this way:
file filename

When invoked, the file command will print a brief description of the
files contents. For example:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ file picture.jpg
picture.jpg: JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01

16

Chapter 3

There are many kinds of files. In fact, one of the common ideas in Unixlike operating systems such as Linux is that everything is a file. As we proceed with our lessons, we will see just how true that statement is.
While many of the files on your system are familiar, for example MP3
and JPEG files, many kinds are a little less obvious, and a few are quite
strange.

Viewing File Contents with less

The less command is a program to view text files. Throughout our Linux
system, there are many files that contain human-readable text. The less program provides a convenient way to examine them.
Why would we want to examine text files? Because many of the files that
contain system settings (called configuration files) are stored in this format,
being able to read them gives us insight about how the system works. In
addition, many of the actual programs that the system uses (called scripts)
are stored in this format. In later chapters, we will learn how to edit text
files in order to modify system settings and write our own scripts, but for
now we will just look at their contents.
WHAT IS TEXT?
There are many ways to represent information on a computer. All methods
involve defining a relationship between the information and some numbers
that will be used to represent it. Computers, after all, understand only numbers, and all data is converted to numeric representation.
Some of these representation systems are very complex (such as compressed video files), while others are rather simple. One of the earliest and
simplest is called ASCII text. ASCII (pronounced As-Key) is short for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This simple encoding
scheme was first used on Teletype machines.
Text is a simple one-to-one mapping of characters to numbers. It is very
compact. Fifty characters of text translate to fifty bytes of data. It is not the same
as text in a word processor document such as one created by Microsoft Word or
OpenOffice.org Writer. Those files, in contrast to simple ASCII text, contain
many non-text elements that are used to describe their structure and formatting. Plain ASCII text files contain only the characters themselves and a few
rudimentary control codes like tabs, carriage returns, and linefeeds.
Throughout a Linux system, many files are stored in text format, and many
Linux tools work with text files. Even Windows recognizes the importance of
this format. The well-known Notepad program is an editor for plain ASCII text
files.

Exploring the System

17

The less command is used like this:

less filename

Once started, the less program allows you to scroll forward and backward through a text file. For example, to examine the file that defines all
the systems user accounts, enter the following command:
[me@linuxbox ~]$ less /etc/passwd

Once the less program starts, we can view the contents of the file. If the
file is longer than one page, we can scroll up and down. To exit less, press
the Q key.
Table 3-3 lists the most common keyboard commands used by less.
Table 3-3: less Commands
Command
PAGE UP

Action

or b

PAGE DOWN

Scroll back one page.

or

Scroll forward one page.

Spacebar
Up Arrow

Scroll up one line.

Down Arrow

Scroll down one line.

Move to the end of the text file.

1G or g

Move to the beginning of the text file.

/characters

Search forward to the next occurrence of characters.

Search for the next occurrence of the previous search.

Display help screen.

Quit less.

LESS IS MORE
The less program was designed as an improved replacement of an earlier Unix
program called more. Its name is a play on the phrase less is morea motto of
modernist architects and designers.
less falls into the class of programs called pagers, programs that allow the
easy viewing of long text documents in a page-by-page manner. Whereas the
more program could only page forward, the less program allows paging both
forward and backward and has many other features as well.

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Chapter 3

A Guided Tour
The filesystem layout on your Linux system is much like that found on other
Unix-like systems. The design is actually specified in a published standard
called the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. Not all Linux distributions conform to the standard exactly, but most come pretty close.
Next, we are going to wander around the filesystem ourselves to see
what makes our Linux system tick. This will give you a chance to practice
your navigation skills. One of the things we will discover is that many of the
interesting files are in plain, human-readable text. As we go about our tour,
try the following:
1.

cd into a given directory.

2.

List the directory contents with ls -l.

3.

If you see an interesting file, determine its contents with file.

4.

If it looks as if it might be text, try viewing it with less.

Note: Remember the copy-and-paste trick! If you are using a mouse, you can double-click a
filename to copy it and middle-click to paste it into commands.
As we wander around, dont be afraid to look at stuff. Regular users are
largely prohibited from messing things up. Thats the system administrators
job! If a command complains about something, just move on to something
else. Spend some time looking around. The system is ours to explore.
Remember, in Linux, there are no secrets!
Table 3-4 lists just a few of the directories we can explore. Feel free to
try more!
Table 3-4: Directories Found on Linux Systems
Directory

Comments

The root directory, where everything begins.

/bin

Contains binaries (programs) that must be present for the

system to boot and run.

/boot

Contains the Linux kernel, initial RAM disk image (for

drivers needed at boot time), and the boot loader.
Interesting files:
/boot/grub/grub.conf or menu.lst, which are used to
configure the boot loader
/boot/vmlinuz, the Linux kernel

(continued )

Exploring the System

19

Table 3-4 (continued )

Directory

Comments

/dev

This is a special directory that contains device nodes.

Everything is a file also applies to devices. Here is
where the kernel maintains a list of all the devices it
understands.

/etc

The /etc directory contains all of the system-wide

configuration files. It also contains a collection of shell
scripts that start each of the system services at boot time.
Everything in this directory should be readable text.
Interesting files: While everything in /etc is interesting,
here are some of my all-time favorites:
/etc/crontab, a file that defines when automated jobs
will run
/etc/fstab, a table of storage devices and their
associated mount points
/etc/passwd, a list of the user accounts

20

Chapter 3

/home

In normal configurations, each user is given a directory

in /home. Ordinary users can write files only in their
home directories. This limitation protects the system from
errant user activity.

/lib

Contains shared library files used by the core system

programs. These are similar to DLLs in Windows.

/lost+found

Each formatted partition or device using a Linux filesystem, such as ext3, will have this directory. It is used
in the case of a partial recovery from a filesystem corruption event. Unless something really bad has happened to your system, this directory will remain empty.

/media

On modern Linux systems the /media directory will

contain the mount points for removable media such
as USB drives, CD-ROMs, etc. that are mounted
automatically at insertion.

/mnt

On older Linux systems, the /mnt directory contains

mount points for removable devices that have been
mounted manually.

/opt

The /opt directory is used to install optional software.

This is mainly used to hold commercial software products
that may be installed on your system.

Table 3-4 (continued )

Directory

Comments

/proc

The /proc directory is special. Its not a real filesystem in

the sense of files stored on your hard drive. Rather, it is
a virtual filesystem maintained by the Linux kernel. The
files it contains are peepholes into the kernel itself. The
files are readable and will give you a picture of how the
kernel sees your computer.

/root

This is the home directory for the root account.

/sbin

This directory contains system binaries. These are

programs that perform vital system tasks that are
generally reserved for the superuser.

/tmp

The /tmp directory is intended for storage of temporary,

transient files created by various programs. Some configurations cause this directory to be emptied each time
the system is rebooted.

/usr

The /usr directory tree is likely the largest one on a Linux

system. It contains all the programs and support files
used by regular users.

/usr/bin

/usr/bin contains the executable programs installed

by your Linux distribution. It is not uncommon for this
directory to hold thousands of programs.

/usr/lib

The shared libraries for the programs in /usr/bin.

/usr/local

The /usr/local tree is where programs that are not

included with your distribution but are intended for
system-wide use are installed. Programs compiled from
source code are normally installed in /usr/local/bin.
On a newly installed Linux system, this tree exists, but it
will be empty until the system administrator puts something in it.

/usr/sbin

Contains more system administration programs.

/usr/share

/usr/share contains all the shared data used by

programs in /usr/bin. This includes things like default
configuration files, icons, screen backgrounds, sound
files, etc.

/usr/share/doc

Most packages installed on the system will include some

kind of documentation. In /usr/share/doc, we will find
documentation files organized by package.
(continued )

Exploring the System

21

Table 3-4 (continued )

Directory

Comments

/var

With the exception of /tmp and /home, the directories

we have looked at so far remain relatively static; that is,
their contents dont change. The /var directory tree is
where data that is likely to change is stored. Various
databases, spool files, user mail, etc. are located here.

/var/log

/var/log contains log files, records of various system

activity. These are very important and should be monitored from time to time. The most useful one is /var/
log/messages. Note that for security reasons on some
systems, you must be the superuser to view log files.

Symbolic Links
As we look around, we are likely to see a directory listing with an entry
like this:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root

11 2012-08-11 07:34 libc.so.6 -> libc-2.6.so

Notice how the first letter of the listing is l and the entry seems to
have two filenames? This is a special kind of a file called a symbolic link (also
known as a soft link or symlink). In most Unix-like systems it is possible to
have a file referenced by multiple names. While the value of this may not
be obvious now, it is really a useful feature.
Picture this scenario: A program requires the use of a shared resource
of some kind contained in a file named foo, but foo has frequent version
changes. It would be good to include the version number in the filename
so the administrator or other interested party could see what version of foo
is installed. This presents a problem. If we change the name of the shared
resource, we have to track down every program that might use it and change
it to look for a new resource name every time a new version of the resource
is installed. That doesnt sound like fun at all.
Here is where symbolic links save the day. Lets say we install version 2.6
of foo, which has the filename foo-2.6, and then create a symbolic link simply
called foo that points to foo-2.6. This means that when a program opens the
file foo, it is actually opening the file foo-2.6. Now everybody is happy. The
programs that rely on foo can find it, and we can still see what actual version
is installed. When it is time to upgrade to foo-2.7, we just add the file to our
system, delete the symbolic link foo, and create a new one that points to the
new version. Not only does this solve the problem of the version upgrade,
but it also allows us to keep both versions on our machine. Imagine that
foo-2.7 has a bug (damn those developers!) and we need to revert to the old

22

Chapter 3

version. Again, we just delete the symbolic link pointing to the new version
and create a new symbolic link pointing to the old version.
The directory listing above (from the /lib directory of a Fedora system)
shows a symbolic link called libc.so.6 that points to a shared library file called
libc-2.6.so. This means that programs looking for libc.so.6 will actually get the
file libc-2.6.so. We will learn how to create symbolic links in the next chapter.
HARD LINKS
While we are on the subject of links, we need to mention that there is a second
type of link called a hard link. Hard links also allow files to have multiple names,
but they do it in a different way. Well talk more about the differences between
symbolic and hard links in the next chapter.

Exploring the System

23