4.16. Important Directories
You already know about /home, where user files are stored. As a system administrator and programmer, several other directories will be important to you. Here are a few, along with their contents:
- /bin
The most essential Unix commands, such as ls.
- /usr/bin
Other commands. The distinction between /bin and /usr/bin is arbitrary; it was a convenient way to split up commands on early Unix systems that had small disks.
- /usr/sbin
Commands used by the superuser for system administration.
- /boot
Location where the kernel and other files used during booting are sometimes stored.
- /etc
Files used by subsystems such as networking, NFS, and mail. Typically, these contain tables of network services, disks to mount, and so on.
- /var
Administrative files, such as log files, used by various utilities.
- /var/spool
Temporary storage for files being printed, sent by UUCP, and so on.
- /usr/lib
Standard libraries, such as libc.a. When you link a program, the linker always searches here for the libraries specified in -l options.
- /usr/lib/X11
The X Window System distribution. Contains the libraries used by X clients, as well as fonts, sample resources files, and other important parts of the X package. This directory is usually a symbolic link to /usr/X11R6/lib/X11.
- /usr/include
Standard location of include files used in C programs, such as <stdio.h>.
- /usr/src
- /usr/local
Programs and data files that have been added locally by the system administrator.
- /etc/skel
Sample startup files you can place in home directories for new users.
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| 4.15. Startup Files |  | 4.17. Programs That Serve You |
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