Re: [PATCH v2 3/6] intro.1: Explain the meaning of a directory

[Alejandro Colomar <alx@kernel.org>]

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Hi Jeremy,

On Tue, Mar 19, 2024 at 08:57:07AM +1300, Jeremy Baxter wrote:
> On Mon Mar 18, 2024 at 4:05 AM NZDT, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
> > On Sun, Mar 17, 2024 at 09:08:31PM +1300, Jeremy Baxter wrote:
> > > ---
> > >  man1/intro.1 | 3 +++
> > >  1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/man1/intro.1 b/man1/intro.1
> > > index 090678750..f0a8d98e0 100644
> > > --- a/man1/intro.1
> > > +++ b/man1/intro.1
> > > @@ -180,6 +180,9 @@ The command
> > >  In this example, we use it to find Maja's telephone number.
> > >  .SS Pathnames and the current directory
> > >  Files live in a large tree, called the file hierarchy.
> > > +In this hierarchy, there are many
> > > +.IR directories ;
> > > +a directory is simply a file that can hold other files as opposed to text.
> >
> > This might confuse more than it helps.  What does "hold" mean?  Does the
> > directory hold the file data?  As in a .tar archive?  No.
> >
> > In any case, this subsection doesn't seem to treat how directories are
> > represented in the filesystem, but rather how they are presented to the
> > user in path names.
> 
> What do you think about this?
> 
>   In this hierarchy, there are many
>   .IR directories ;
>   a directory is simple a file that contains other files,
>   rather than text.
>   For example, if we have a file called
>   .I tel
>   in the directory
>   .IR /home/aeb ,
>   we can refer to it by the pathname
>   .IR /home/aeb/tel .
> 
> I think this section is still important because previously there was
> no explanation for this, and most people are accustomed to using the
> word "folder".

Hmm, it's good that you mention this.  When explaining directories to
friends used to Windows (and GUI) terms, I noticed that it's unfamiliar
to them.

I actually thought about it, and the term "directory" tells you what it
is quite precisely:

Like a directory of phones, it's just a piece of paper where you note
down the phones of people.  Directories, similarly, contain lists of
files.  They don't "hold" nor "contain" the files.

Cheers,
Alex

> 
>  ~Jeremy
> 
> > >  Each file has a
> > >  .I "pathname"
> > >  describing the location of the file from the root of the tree
> > > -- 
> > > 2.44.0
> > > 
> > > 
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es/>
Looking for a remote C programming job at the moment.

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