Linux System Administration and Configuration -- The Linux Filesystem

Under the root directory are the major directories. Each *NIX system includes directories with standard names.

The names and contents of the major *NIX directories are summarized below.

Name	Contents
/usr	Contains user related programs such as X, Netscape, etc.
/bin	Contains compiled executable programs, such as shells and shell commands like "ls" or "cat".
/tmp	Temporary files--everyone has read and write permissions to /tmp.
/dev	Contains block and character device files (/dev/cdrom, /dev/fd0, etc.)
/etc	Contains configuration and system administration files
/var	Contains log files and spool files
/home	Contains user directories.
/sbin	Contains system binaries that are run by root or at boot.