[blog] Ramble around the UNIX file system

Interesting piece from IBM Devworks - an explanation of the standard Unix FS layout.

One thing puzzles me. The author comments that /var is the place for files that grow over time, such as mailboxes. I can see there would be a need on a "proper" multiuser system for a global mail spool, but shouldn't users' mail be in their home directories? As a Unix user, I'm a wimp* and use Thunderbird for my mail on my primary machine - a Linux box - and also on my Mac and my PCs. As a result, there's nothing in /var/mail and ~/mbox contains just a few system mails from about 3y ago when I ran SUSE. (I'm on Ubuntu now and much prefer it.) Am I missing something?

Couple of thoughts arising.

I'm interested to note that the author says that "/etc" is often pronounced "etcee". I always tended to say "et cetera". uon was right again.

Also, the fact that even Linux distros can't agree on where to put everything, plus the many implicit assumptions in the logic of the tree that any Unix machine is a multiuser box with stuff probably mounted off a remote machine, makes, with the passing of time, a better and better argument for GoboLinux. Must try that sometime.

P.S. No, the book is not dead. It's just... resting. I'm making more money writing for the Inquirer at the moment and at this stage money is more important than the (perhaps meagre) kudos and CD bragging rights of having written a book. Shame. :¬(

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* pun intended**
** Not a weakly-interacting massive particle, but that's also a fair description...