concept of file system: meaning of arrows

jone kim · 02-25-2011, 12:27 PM

I've several questions to ask:
Why do some files have black arrows pointed outward in my file system?
Why are some files in compressed form, e.g. initrd.img?? How are such files used by the system??

TobiSGD · 02-25-2011, 12:32 PM

The arrow means that it is a link to another file. Compressed files, that are necessary for the system to work, like initrd.img, are decompressed on the fly by the system.

corp769 · 02-25-2011, 12:38 PM

To help yourself in understanding files and their permissions, run a terminal, cd to / and do a ls -al to view all files with their permissions. As far as the files with arrows, they are symbolic links.

As far as your initrd.img being compressed, you can find more information about the file here - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/li.../l-initrd.html

Cheers,

Josh

EDIT: Talk about mad lag... Got beaten to it by TobiSGD.