Next: The Current Directory Up: The Basics Previous: Directories   Contents

Home Directories

Each registered user is assigned a home directory. This ensures that files that are created by the various users of the system can be distinguished from one another. Placing all the files that belong to a particular user into their home directory allows the operating system to distinguish that particular user's file called stuff from any other file with the same name.

The name assigned to your home directory is the same as your login name. It is within your home directory that you will create and manipulate your own files and directories.

Your home directory may exist anywhere on our system, but it can always be referred to as /home/ (eg, /home/pats777). Never use a name such as /tmp_amd/bizet/import/1/angies. It may work today but is unlikely to work in the future. If you need to know where your home directly really is located (maybe to track down a problem with one of the fileservers), the acc command will tell you.

Most shells also use the tilde character (~) to refer to a home directory. ~/file will be in your home directory; ~zorro/otherfile is in Zorro's home directory.

---

Next: The Current Directory Up: The Basics Previous: Directories   Contents