UNIX and Linux systems have a variety of file types, and do not require extensions. This situation seems designed to cause confusion for anyone having to manage system files. Even worse is attempting to determine what is the type of a file that has been created by another administrator of the system, or that was installed and has no further documentation.
Learning Objectives
Successfully complete this lab by achieving the following learning objectives:
- Use the ls, file, and stat Commands on Various Files on Your System to Determine File Type Information
Commands used to examine files on the system.
Move into the /dev directory
cd /devIn this directory determine file types.
ls -lcd /etc file * | lesslocate the aliases files.
cat the DB filecat aliases.dbclear the terminal of non std characters.
resetread the file in octal or hex format
od aliases.db hexdump aliases.db- Understand the Important Differences Between Regular Files, Directory Files and Hard and Soft Links Using Various Commands
View file and directory details using the
lscommand, create a regular file, and then create a hard link and a soft link that the file. Display the differences between the hard and soft links usingls -loptions for more information and lastly view more information about the files with thestatcommand, including their types as defined in the magic number files.
