UNIX / Linux: Absolute Pathnames
Q. Can you explain the term absolute pathname under UNIX or Linux oses?
A. An absolute pathname, is the location of a filesystem object relative to the root directory. All absolute pathnames always begin with a slash (/). With Absolute pathname you have access to complete file system objects such as directories and files.
Absolute Pathnames
You can use absolute pathnames to specify full file path such as /etc/passwd. It is believed that UNIX pathname looks and feels like Internet addresses, thus result into compatibility. The absolute pathname of the current directory can be found by using the pwd command:
pwd
Absolute Pathnames Examples
Try following commands:
pwd
ls /etc
ls /usr/share/games
cd /usr/share/games
pwd
cd ~
pwd
cat /etc/passwd
cp /etc/passwd /tmp
cd /tmp
pwd
cat passwd
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Related Other Helpful FAQs:
- Understanding Linux / UNIX Relative Pathname
- Understanding /etc/passwd file format
- How do I find the path to a command file?
- Can I create another root user account in Linux / UNIX?
- Linux / UNIX: Print Current Working Directory with pwd command
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Tags: absolute_pathname, absolute_pathnames, filesystem_object, pwd_command, root_directory, unix_pathname
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