Structure of Linux

Here we will be discussing the basics of LINUX, starting with the structure of the OS. The Basic components will be the Kernel, Shell and FHS (Filesystem Hierarchy Standard) . Let’s go through these components in detail..

The Kernel

The Kernel is the Heart of an operating system (OS). Kernel manages everything of a Linux OS. It performs tasks that create and maintain the Linux environment.  It is the communication channel between the hardware and shell. The hardware operations are directed by Shell and are passed through to the right hardware by Kernel.

SHELL

 

 

Simply put, the shell is a program that takes your commands from the keyboard and gives them to the operating system to perform. . It  is the interface between you and Linux . The commands which we issued , which is interpreted and passed on to the kernel for processing.

 

 

There are variable types of shells available in Linux. Most Linux varieties use Bourne-Again shell(bash) but support various others: Korn Shell, Bourne shell, C shell, etc. For all intensive purposes you can just stick with bash but I will show you how to change this if you want to. As you advance you can use shells to create scripts to automate tasks, making your daily routine all the more easier

Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

Linux uses the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) file system structure, which defines the names, locations, and permissions for many file types and directories.

/ – The root directory. Everything in Linux is under root directory. The first stage of Linux filesystem structure.

/bin – Most of the command binary files are under this directory. General commands including ls, man, mv etc… are all under /bin.

/boot – Necessary boot files for Linux are kept under /boot.

 

 

/dev – The device files are located in /dev

/etc – Configuration files are saved under /etc. This directory is just like the control panel for a Windows host.

/home – For all users except the root user, the home directory will be placed in /home. For e.g, /home/beginnersforum.

/media – /media will be used for mounting external storage devices

/mnt – Temporary mounted file systems

/opt — Application programs directory

/sbin — Additional system binaries.

/tmp – As the name indicates, a temporary directory for files.

/usr – The largest directory in Linux. Application files and config files are also kept under here

/var – var stands for variable , that the Variable data on a system. Data that will change as the system is running (Log files, backups, cache, etc.)

/root – Home directory for root as already discussed

This directory structure is everything in Linux.

We can conclude the basic components of Linux here even-though the topic is very deep. More in coming posts. Enjoy reading…!