For questions about words/terms that are specific to Unix and/or Linux.
Questions tagged [terminology]
152 questions
1508
votes
10 answers
What is the exact difference between a 'terminal', a 'shell', a 'tty' and a 'console'?
I think these terms almost refer to the same thing, when used loosely:
terminal
shell
tty
console
What exactly does each of these terms refer to?
Lazer
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236
votes
9 answers
What does etc stand for?
What does the "etc" folder in the root directory stand for? I think knowing this will help me remember where certain files are located.
Update: Might be useful for others, the folder is used for "Host specific configuration files" - reference.
David Tang
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153
votes
5 answers
What is a Superblock, Inode, Dentry and a File?
From the article Anatomy of the Linux file system by M. Tim Jones, I read that Linux views all the file systems from the perspective of a common set of objects and these objects are superblock, inode, dentry and file. Even though the rest of the…
Navaneeth Sen
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78
votes
6 answers
What is a socket?
Could someone explain to me what a socket is? I see it in many acronyms in context of SSL, etc.
Also, why is it called a socket? Is it purely because it was what a name they invented? Or was it the first name they came up with?
chrisjlee
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73
votes
6 answers
Differences between volume, partition and drive
What do these terms mean exactly?
partition
volume
drive
On Windows, one may say drive C: or partition C:. On Linux I'm not sure what should be used for partitions because they don't have a name.
user44920
63
votes
1 answer
Why a "login" shell over a "non-login" shell?
I have a basic understanding of dotfiles in *nix system. But I am still quite confused about this Difference between Login Shell and Non-Login Shell?
A bunch of different answers (including multiple duplicates) have already addressed the following…
lxyyz
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63
votes
5 answers
Why is there a * When There is Mention of Unix Throughout the Internet?
I've noticed that throughout the Internet, within forums and blog posts, Unix always has a * in the word, whether it is *nix or Un*x, as I noticed at the welcoming banner at the Unix StackExchange site.
Why is this like this?
JFW
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62
votes
4 answers
What is the difference between a job and a process?
What is the difference between a "job" and a "process"?
Olivier Lalonde
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60
votes
2 answers
What is $PWD? (vs current working directory)
So Wikipedia (link) tells me that the command pwd is short for "print working directory", and that makes sense.
But for the environment variable, the "P" has to be an acronym for something else than print.
I hear people talking about "current…
Mads Skjern
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51
votes
2 answers
Why do some Linux files have a 'd' suffix?
I observed some of the binary files and configuration filenames end with a d.
What is reason for putting a d at the end of the file name?
Like httpd, ospfd, pppd, syslogd, telnetd, pptpd, inetd, bootlogd and dhcpd.
Ankur Loriya
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43
votes
4 answers
What is the correct name for the ">" command
I was trying to find how to pass some text to a file without overwriting what's there already using the > command and I realised I don't know what it's called. Searching for right arrow or right chevron or more than command didn't show up anything.…
blarg
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38
votes
1 answer
Why does Plan 9 use "snarf" instead of "copy"?
When you watch presentations about Plan 9 and its acme editor you might notice that the name for copy is snarf (I wasn't able to find any meaningful explanation unfortunately).
Why is it so?
Is there a reason for that? Was it done to create a…
Mateusz Piotrowski
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36
votes
1 answer
What is "firmware" in Linux terminology?
I'm being confused by the use of firmware in the context of Linux.
My understanding of firmware & driver is that firmware is the code that runs on the bare metal of a device such as a Bluetooth IC, or keyboard controller, or video card, or a…
wopwop
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35
votes
5 answers
Why do /usr and /tmp directories for Linux miss vowels in their spellings?
I have often started to think about this but never found a good answer. Why are these two Unix directories not /user and /temp instead?
All the other directories under root seem to be exactly what one would guess them to be, but these two seem odd,…
Lazer
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34
votes
6 answers
File systems vs partitions vs directories
I am new to Linux so pardon me for the possible confusion you may encounter in this question.
From what I understand, filesystem specifies how a partition stores/manages file, with standards such as ext2, ext3, reiserfs, xfs, etc. Occasionally I see…
Kenny
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