5.1 The File System
5.1.2 Function of directories
You were introduced to the UNIX file system and directories in Chapter 1. Hard disks are divided into file systems and directories. These exist to group information into containers that categorize them. By organizing or grouping files into directories, applications and users can find their files when they need them. We will cover the creation of directories and naming conventions later in the course. Directories are created in one of four ways:
  • They are created by the operating system during installation.
    Several standard Solaris directories are created when an operating system (OS) is first installed. In the UNIX environment, these include usr, dev, etc, export, kernel and others as shown in Figure . They are used by the OS to store files critical to the operation of the computer including the kernel itself.
  • They can be created by applications during installation.
    When applications are installed such as StarOffice ™, directories are created automatically to give the application places to store installation files and for use by the application and users to store data files.
  • The System Administrator can create them.
    When creating user accounts on a workstation or server, the System administrator (Sysadmin) can create a particular directory or set of directories depending on user needs.
  • User can create their own directories.
    Users themselves can create directories providing they have proper permission. By default, users have permission to create subdirectories and files under their home directory. We will cover directory and file permissions later in the course.