Files and File System
Everything is a file
A file is an addressable location that contains some data which can take many forms.
-
Text data
-
Binary/Image data
Files have associated meta-data
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Owner
-
Group
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Timestamps
-
Permission
-
Read(r)
-
Write (w)
-
Execute(x)
File permissions
File names
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Case-sensitive: "myfile.txt" is different from "MyFile.txt".
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Hidden files: Filenames starting with a dot (.) are hidden by default.
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File extensions: Not mandatory, but using them helps identify file types.
-
Spaces: Allowed but not recommended, use
_
or–
instead.
Best practices of file names
-
Keep names descriptive and concise.
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Use lowercase for consistency.
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Avoid special characters unless necessary.
-
Stick to alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens.
File organization
Everything is mounted to the root directory
Files are referred to by their location called the path
- Absolute Path (From the root)
-
/cluster/tufts/pi01/user01
-
Relative Path (From my current location)
- user01/file01