It’s time to upgrade from your current operating system, whether it’s Windows or Mac OS.A UNIX core is used in Mac OS. It will be pretty easy for you to transition from Mac OS to Linux.
It will take some getting used to for Windows users. In this tutorial, we’ll look at the Linux operating system and compare it to Windows.
Windows Vs. Linux File System
When we compare file system in Windows and Linux, in Microsoft Windows, files are stored in folders on different data drives like C: D: E:
In Linux, however, files are organised in a tree structure, beginning with the root directory. This root directory represents the beginning of the file system, and it branches out into numerous additional subdirectories. A forward slash ‘/’ is used to indicate the root.
On your UNIX, a general tree file system might look like this
Types of Files
In Linux and UNIX, everything is a file. Directories are files, files are files, and devices like Printer, mouse, keyboard etc.are files.
Let’s look into the File types in more detail.
General Files
Ordinary files are sometimes known as general files. They can include an image, a video, a software, or just plain text. They can be written in ASCII or Binary. These are the files that Linux users utilise the most.
Directory Files
These files serve as a storage facility for many file types. A directory file can exist within a directory (sub-directory). You can think of them as the Windows operating system’s ‘Folders.’
Device Files
In MS Windows, devices like Printers, CD-ROM, and hard drives are represented as drive letters like G: H:. In Linux, there are represented as files .For example, if the first SATA hard drive had three primary partitions, they would be named and numbered as /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2 and /dev/sda3.
Permissions exist for all of the above file types (including devices), allowing a user to view, edit, or execute (run) them. This is a very useful feature in Linux/Unix. Changing permissions can be used to apply access limits to different types of users. For More Information visit TrendBlog.
Windows Vs. Linux: Users
There are 3 types of users in Linux.
- Regular
- Administrative(root)
- Service
Regular User
When you install Ubuntu on your PC, it creates a typical user account for you. Your home directory, /home/, contains all of your files and directories. You do not have access to other users’ folders as an ordinary user.
Root User
At the time of installation, a user account called root is created in addition to your usual account. The root account is a superuser with administrative capabilities who can access restricted files, install software, and do other tasks. You must log in as a root user if you want to install software, make changes to system files, or do any administrative action on Linux. Otherwise, you can use your regular account to do things like listen to music and browse the internet.
Windows Vs. Linux: HOME Directory
In Linux, a directory named /home/ is created for each user.
Consider the case of “Tom,” a standard user account. In the directory “/home/tom,” he can keep his personal files and directories. He is unable to save files outside of his user directory and has no access to other users’ directories. He can’t, for example, access the directory “/home/jerry” of another user account named “Jerry.”
The approach is comparable to Windows’ C:Documents and Settings.
The default working directory when you boot the Linux operating system is your user directory (in the example above, /home/tom). As a result, the directory “/home/tom” is also known as the Home directory, which is incorrect.
Windows Vs. Linux: Other Directories
In terms of other directories, Windows saves System and Program files in the C: drive, whereas Linux saves them in the D: disc. In Linux, however, the system and programme files are located in separate folders. The boot files, for example, are kept in the /boot directory, while programme and software files are kept in /bin, and device files are kept in /dev. Important Linux Directories are listed here, along with a brief description of what they contain.