mirror of https://github.com/mkerrisk/man-pages
508 lines
13 KiB
Groff
508 lines
13 KiB
Groff
.\" Copyright (c) 1993 by Thomas Koenig (ig25@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de)
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.\"
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.\" %%%LICENSE_START(VERBATIM)
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.\" Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
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.\" manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
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.\" preserved on all copies.
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.\"
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.\" Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
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.\" manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
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.\" entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
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.\" permission notice identical to this one.
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.\"
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.\" Since the Linux kernel and libraries are constantly changing, this
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.\" manual page may be incorrect or out-of-date. The author(s) assume no
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.\" responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from
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.\" the use of the information contained herein. The author(s) may not
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.\" have taken the same level of care in the production of this manual,
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.\" which is licensed free of charge, as they might when working
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.\" professionally.
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.\"
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.\" Formatted or processed versions of this manual, if unaccompanied by
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.\" the source, must acknowledge the copyright and authors of this work.
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.\" %%%LICENSE_END
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.\"
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.\" Modified Sun Jul 25 11:05:58 1993 by Rik Faith (faith@cs.unc.edu)
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.\" Modified Sat Feb 10 16:18:03 1996 by Urs Thuermann (urs@isnogud.escape.de)
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.\" Modified Mon Jun 16 20:02:00 1997 by Nicolás Lichtmaier <nick@debian.org>
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.\" Modified Mon Feb 6 16:41:00 1999 by Nicolás Lichtmaier <nick@debian.org>
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.\" Modified Tue Feb 8 16:46:45 2000 by Chris Pepper <pepper@tgg.com>
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.\" Modified Fri Sep 7 20:32:45 2001 by Tammy Fox <tfox@redhat.com>
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.TH HIER 7 2012-08-05 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
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.SH NAME
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hier \- description of the file system hierarchy
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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A typical Linux system has, among others, the following directories:
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.TP
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.I /
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This is the root directory.
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This is where the whole tree starts.
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.TP
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.I /bin
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This directory contains executable programs which are needed in
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single user mode and to bring the system up or repair it.
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.TP
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.I /boot
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Contains static files for the boot loader.
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This directory holds only
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the files which are needed during the boot process.
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The map installer
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and configuration files should go to
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.I /sbin
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and
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.IR /etc .
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.TP
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.I /dev
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Special or device files, which refer to physical devices.
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See
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.BR mknod (1).
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.TP
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.I /etc
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Contains configuration files which are local to the machine.
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Some
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larger software packages, like X11, can have their own subdirectories
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below
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.IR /etc .
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Site-wide configuration files may be placed here or in
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.IR /usr/etc .
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Nevertheless, programs should always look for these files in
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.I /etc
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and you may have links for these files to
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.IR /usr/etc .
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.TP
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.I /etc/opt
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Host-specific configuration files for add-on applications installed
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in
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.IR /opt .
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.TP
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.I /etc/sgml
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This directory contains the configuration files for SGML and XML (optional).
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.TP
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.I /etc/skel
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When a new user account is created, files from this directory are
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usually copied into the user's home directory.
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.TP
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.I /etc/X11
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Configuration files for the X11 window system (optional).
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.TP
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.I /home
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On machines with home directories for users, these are usually beneath
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this directory, directly or not.
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The structure of this directory
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depends on local administration decisions.
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.TP
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.I /lib
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This directory should hold those shared libraries that are necessary
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to boot the system and to run the commands in the root file system.
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.TP
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.I /media
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This directory contains mount points for removable media such as CD
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and DVD disks or USB sticks.
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.TP
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.I /mnt
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This directory is a mount point for a temporarily mounted file system.
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In some distributions,
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.I /mnt
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contains subdirectories intended to be used as mount points for several
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temporary file systems.
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.TP
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.I /opt
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This directory should contain add-on packages that contain static files.
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.TP
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.I /proc
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This is a mount point for the
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.I proc
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file system, which provides information about running processes and
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the kernel.
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This pseudo-file system is described in more detail in
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.BR proc (5).
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.TP
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.I /root
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This directory is usually the home directory for the root user (optional).
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.TP
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.I /sbin
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Like
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.IR /bin ,
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this directory holds commands needed to boot the system, but which are
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usually not executed by normal users.
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.TP
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.I /srv
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This directory contains site-specific data that is served by this system.
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.TP
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.I /tmp
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This directory contains temporary files which may be deleted with no
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notice, such as by a regular job or at system boot up.
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.TP
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.I /usr
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This directory is usually mounted from a separate partition.
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It should hold only sharable, read-only data, so that it can be mounted
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by various machines running Linux.
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.TP
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.I /usr/X11R6
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The X\-Window system, version 11 release 6 (optional).
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.TP
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.I /usr/X11R6/bin
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Binaries which belong to the X\-Window system; often, there is a
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symbolic link from the more traditional
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.I /usr/bin/X11
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to here.
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.TP
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.I /usr/X11R6/lib
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Data files associated with the X\-Window system.
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.TP
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.I /usr/X11R6/lib/X11
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These contain miscellaneous files needed to run X; Often, there is a
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symbolic link from
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.I /usr/lib/X11
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to this directory.
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.TP
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.I /usr/X11R6/include/X11
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Contains include files needed for compiling programs using the X11
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window system.
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Often, there is a symbolic link from
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.I /usr/include/X11
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to this directory.
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.TP
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.I /usr/bin
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This is the primary directory for executable programs.
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Most programs
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executed by normal users which are not needed for booting or for
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repairing the system and which are not installed locally should be
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placed in this directory.
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.TP
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.I /usr/bin/X11
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is the traditional place to look for X11 executables; on Linux, it
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usually is a symbolic link to
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.IR /usr/X11R6/bin .
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.TP
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.I /usr/dict
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Replaced by
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.IR /usr/share/dict .
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.TP
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.I /usr/doc
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Replaced by
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.IR /usr/share/doc .
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.TP
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.I /usr/etc
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Site-wide configuration files to be shared between several machines
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may be stored in this directory.
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However, commands should always
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reference those files using the
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.I /etc
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directory.
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Links from files in
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.I /etc
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should point to the appropriate files in
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.IR /usr/etc .
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.TP
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.I /usr/games
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Binaries for games and educational programs (optional).
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.TP
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.I /usr/include
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Include files for the C compiler.
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.TP
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.I /usr/include/X11
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Include files for the C compiler and the X\-Window system.
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This is
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usually a symbolic link to
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.IR /usr/X11R6/include/X11 .
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.TP
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.I /usr/include/asm
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Include files which declare some assembler functions.
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This used to be a
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symbolic link to
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.IR /usr/src/linux/include/asm .
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.TP
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.I /usr/include/linux
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This contains information which may change from system release to
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system release and used to be a symbolic link to
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.I /usr/src/linux/include/linux
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to get at operating system specific information.
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(Note that one should have include files there that work correctly with
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the current libc and in user space.
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However, Linux kernel source is not
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designed to be used with user programs and does not know anything
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about the libc you are using.
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It is very likely that things will break
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if you let
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.I /usr/include/asm
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and
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.I /usr/include/linux
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point at a random kernel tree.
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Debian systems don't do this
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and use headers from a known good kernel
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version, provided in the libc*-dev package.)
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.TP
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.I /usr/include/g++
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Include files to use with the GNU C++ compiler.
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.TP
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.I /usr/lib
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Object libraries, including dynamic libraries, plus some executables
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which usually are not invoked directly.
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More complicated programs may
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have whole subdirectories there.
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.TP
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.I /usr/lib/X11
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The usual place for data files associated with X programs, and
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configuration files for the X system itself.
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On Linux, it usually is
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a symbolic link to
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.IR /usr/X11R6/lib/X11 .
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.TP
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.I /usr/lib/gcc-lib
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contains executables and include files for the GNU C compiler,
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.BR gcc (1).
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.TP
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.I /usr/lib/groff
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Files for the GNU groff document formatting system.
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.TP
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.I /usr/lib/uucp
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Files for
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.BR uucp (1).
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.TP
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.I /usr/local
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This is where programs which are local to the site typically go.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/bin
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Binaries for programs local to the site.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/doc
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Local documentation.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/etc
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Configuration files associated with locally installed programs.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/games
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Binaries for locally installed games.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/lib
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Files associated with locally installed programs.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/include
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Header files for the local C compiler.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/info
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Info pages associated with locally installed programs.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/man
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Man pages associated with locally installed programs.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/sbin
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Locally installed programs for system administration.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/share
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Local application data that can be shared among different architectures
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of the same OS.
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.TP
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.I /usr/local/src
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Source code for locally installed software.
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.TP
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.I /usr/man
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Replaced by
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.IR /usr/share/man .
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.TP
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.I /usr/sbin
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This directory contains program binaries for system administration
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which are not essential for the boot process, for mounting
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.IR /usr ,
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or for system repair.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share
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This directory contains subdirectories with specific application data, that
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can be shared among different architectures of the same OS.
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Often one finds stuff here that used to live in
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.I /usr/doc
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or
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.I /usr/lib
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or
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.IR /usr/man .
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/dict
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Contains the word lists used by spell checkers.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/doc
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Documentation about installed programs.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/games
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Static data files for games in
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.IR /usr/games .
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/info
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Info pages go here.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/locale
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Locale information goes here.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/man
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Manual pages go here in subdirectories according to the man page sections.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/man/<locale>/man[1\-9]
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These directories contain manual pages for the
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specific locale in source code form.
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Systems which use a unique language and code set for all manual pages
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may omit the <locale> substring.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/misc
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Miscellaneous data that can be shared among different architectures of the
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same OS.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/nls
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The message catalogs for native language support go here.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/sgml
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Files for SGML and XML.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/terminfo
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The database for terminfo.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/tmac
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Troff macros that are not distributed with groff.
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.TP
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.I /usr/share/zoneinfo
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Files for timezone information.
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.TP
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.I /usr/src
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Source files for different parts of the system, included with some packages
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for reference purposes.
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Don't work here with your own projects, as files
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below /usr should be read-only except when installing software.
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.TP
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.I /usr/src/linux
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This was the traditional place for the kernel source.
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Some distributions put here the source for the default kernel they ship.
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You should probably use another directory when building your own kernel.
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.TP
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.I /usr/tmp
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Obsolete.
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This should be a link
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to
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.IR /var/tmp .
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This link is present only for compatibility reasons and shouldn't be used.
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.TP
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.I /var
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This directory contains files which may change in size, such as spool
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and log files.
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.TP
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.I /var/adm
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This directory is superseded by
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.I /var/log
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and should be a symbolic link to
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.IR /var/log .
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.TP
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.I /var/backups
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Reserved for historical reasons.
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.TP
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.I /var/cache
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Data cached for programs.
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.TP
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.IR /var/catman/cat[1\-9] " or " /var/cache/man/cat[1\-9]
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These directories contain preformatted manual pages according to their
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man page section.
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(The use of preformatted manual pages is deprecated.)
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.TP
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.I /var/cron
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Reserved for historical reasons.
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.TP
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.I /var/lib
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Variable state information for programs.
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.TP
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.I /var/local
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Variable data for
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.IR /usr/local .
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.TP
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.I /var/lock
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Lock files are placed in this directory.
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The naming convention for
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device lock files is
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.I LCK..<device>
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where
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.I <device>
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is the device's name in the file system.
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The format used is that of HDU UUCP lock files, that is, lock files
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contain a PID as a 10-byte ASCII decimal number, followed by a newline
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character.
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.TP
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.I /var/log
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Miscellaneous log files.
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.TP
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.I /var/opt
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Variable data for
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.IR /opt .
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.TP
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.I /var/mail
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Users' mailboxes.
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Replaces
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.IR /var/spool/mail .
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.TP
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.I /var/msgs
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Reserved for historical reasons.
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.TP
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.I /var/preserve
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Reserved for historical reasons.
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.TP
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.I /var/run
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Run-time variable files, like files holding process identifiers (PIDs)
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and logged user information
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.IR (utmp) .
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Files in this directory are usually cleared when the system boots.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool
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Spooled (or queued) files for various programs.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/at
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Spooled jobs for
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.BR at (1).
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/cron
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Spooled jobs for
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.BR cron (8).
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/lpd
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Spooled files for printing.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/mail
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Replaced by
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.IR /var/mail .
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/mqueue
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Queued outgoing mail.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/news
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Spool directory for news.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/rwho
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Spooled files for
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.BR rwhod (8).
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/smail
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Spooled files for the
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.BR smail (1)
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mail delivery program.
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.TP
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.I /var/spool/uucp
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Spooled files for
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.BR uucp (1).
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.TP
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.I /var/tmp
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Like
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.IR /tmp ,
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this directory holds temporary files stored for an unspecified duration.
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.TP
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.I /var/yp
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Database files for NIS.
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.SH CONFORMING TO
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|
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, Version 2.2
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|
.UR http://www.pathname.com\:/fhs/
|
|
.UE .
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.SH BUGS
|
|
This list is not exhaustive; different systems may be configured
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|
differently.
|
|
.SH SEE ALSO
|
|
.BR find (1),
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|
.BR ln (1),
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|
.BR proc (5),
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|
.BR mount (8)
|
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|
|
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
|