|
Dot FilesJust what are dot files?Very simply, "dot-files" are files in which the first character of the filename is a "." (pronounced "dot"). These files are generally used to hold configuration information for a variety of programs, although some programs generate them to hold debug information or temporary files. Un*x (or more specifically the ls program) treats these files a little differently in that when you get a directory listing they aren't automatically displayed. To see what dot-files are in any given directory you need to invoke ls with the -a option. Why do I care?Because dot-files do alot of useful things. They control how your environment is set up, where your mail goes, what people see when they finger you, etc. Common dot-fileBelow is a list of dot-files that are commonly found on Turing. Unless otherwise stated these files reside in a users ~/ directory.
Copyright (c) HMC Computer Science Department.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with the no Invariant Sections, with no
Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License.''
HMC Computer Science Department Contact Information |