- Source: Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) is a reference describing the conventions used for the layout of Unix-like systems. It has been made popular by its use in Linux distributions, but it is used by other Unix-like systems as well. It is maintained by the Linux Foundation. The latest version is 3.0, released on 3 June 2015.
Directory structure
In the FHS, all files and directories appear under the root directory /, even if they are stored on different physical or virtual devices. Some of these directories only exist in a particular system if certain subsystems, such as the X Window System, are installed.
Most of these directories exist in all Unix-like operating systems and are generally used in much the same way; however, the descriptions here are those used specifically for the FHS and are not considered authoritative for platforms other than Linux.
FHS compliance
Most Linux distributions follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard and declare it their own policy to maintain FHS compliance. GoboLinux and NixOS provide examples of intentionally non-compliant filesystem implementations.
Some distributions generally follow the standard but deviate from it in some areas. The FHS is a "trailing standard", and so documents common practices at a point in time. Of course, times change, and distribution goals and needs call for experimentation. Some common deviations include:
Modern Linux distributions include a /sys directory as a virtual filesystem (sysfs, comparable to /proc, which is a procfs), which stores and allows modification of the devices connected to the system, whereas many traditional Unix-like operating systems use /sys as a symbolic link to the kernel source tree.
Many modern Unix-like systems (such as FreeBSD and OpenBSD) via their ports systems install third-party packages into /usr/local, while keeping code considered part of the operating system in /usr.
Some Linux distributions no longer differentiate between /lib and /usr/lib and have /lib symlinked to /usr/lib.
Some Linux distributions no longer differentiate between /bin and /usr/bin and between /sbin and /usr/sbin. They may symlink /bin to /usr/bin and /sbin to /usr/sbin. Other distributions choose to consolidate all four, symlinking them to /usr/bin.
Modern Linux distributions include a /run directory as a temporary filesystem (tmpfs), which stores volatile runtime data, following the FHS version 3.0. According to the FHS version 2.3, such data were stored in /var/run, but this was a problem in some cases because this directory is not always available at early boot. As a result, these programs have had to resort to trickery, such as using /dev/.udev, /dev/.mdadm, /dev/.systemd or /dev/.mount directories, even though the device directory is not intended for such data. Among other advantages, this makes the system easier to use normally with the root filesystem mounted read-only.
For example, below are the changes Debian made in its 2013 Wheezy release:
/dev/.* → /run/*
/dev/shm → /run/shm
/dev/shm/* → /run/*
/etc/* (writeable files) → /run/*
/lib/init/rw → /run
/var/lock → /run/lock
/var/run → /run
/tmp → /run/tmp
History
= The name of usr
=/usr originally stood for "user". This was an artifact of early Unix programming. Specifically, when Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie were migrating Unix to a PDP-11, the /bin, /lib... directories, which were to be the first directories to be mounted on startup, and must contain all essentials for the OS to function, became bigger than the RK05 disk drive. So they put some of those in the first RK05, including those that are required for loading the second RK05 drive. The rest were put into the /usr directory. When they got a third drive, users' files were moved to a new directory named /home.
FHS was created as the FSSTND (short for "Filesystem Standard"), largely based on similar standards for other Unix-like operating systems. Notable examples are these: the hier(7) description of file system layout, which has existed since the release of Version 7 Unix (in 1979); the SunOS filesystem(7) and its successor, the Solaris filesystem(7).
= Release history
=See also
Hierarchical file system
Unix directory structure
XDG Base Directory Specification
Notes
References
External links
Official Home of the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) at The Linux Foundation
Full specification texts
objectroot – a proposal for a new filesystem hierarchy, based on object-oriented design principles
The Dotted Standard Filename Hierarchy, yet another very different hierarchy (used in cLIeNUX) (mirror)
hier(7) – Linux Programmer's Manual – Overview, Conventions and Miscellanea
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
- Linux Standard Base
- GoboLinux
- Unix filesystem
- Root directory
- Rusty Russell
- Intel Binary Compatibility Standard
- TMPDIR
- Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X
- Free Standards Group