At 08:18 AM 11/13/01 +0000, you wrote: > back in the "80's" when I discovered how dos was like a file > > cabinet,with drawers and folders and papaers (files) ,it all > > suddenly made sense to me. does anyone know any basic things > > about linux that would relate an understanding in linux as was > > in dos?
Linux sometimes appears to have folders reappearing in other places because there may be identically named sub folders in different places. For instance, \ is root but might actually be some distance down a directory tree. It's root because that's where the user is expected to call home. Another user will find themselves at root in a different place in the tree. Then too in that root they may all have their own subfolders with the same name as subfolders that superuser has in his folder and then also the same name as folders that are off the branch meant for system files. It is all very confusing when you first login, being used to c:> as your root and always having you precise path back to it written there on the screen. I know I feel blind in Linux because of how it hides the actual directory position from the user and creates virtual roots. Now throw in links and you really get messed. It has a different way of accessing paths and remembering where things are, much more fluid and flexible, allowing it to seem as though a file is in several places at once when it's only in one but there are links all over for it. If you could tell dos to Path \*.* so that it would look everywhere any time you executed anything, that would be a bit like Linux, although I am sure that there are times when linux can't find it's own files either. These things make it hard to comprehend what's going on, but in the long run contribute to the power of this maniacally challenging OS. I've been at it 4 years now and still can't make it work. It's getting so that if I ever do learn it, I fear the world will come to an end. -- For a country to be free it's citizens must have a way to defy unjust laws. The new electronic snooping devices are a step in the direction of fascism. Consequently I am appending the following Carnivore Confusion noise to all outgoing email: "Allah; America; Anthrax; arms; bomb; border; capitalist; communicate; customs; death; delivery; economic; imperialist; jihad; plane; PGP; rendevous; trucks; war; weapons; U.S.A.; end transmission
