What does
drwtrwx---
mean on the start of your ls-l report?
The first character (d in my example) tells you the type of symbol you have on the file system, as follows:
d - a directory;
b - a block-type special file;
c - a character-type special file;
p - a named pipe;
l - a symbolic link;
S - a socket;
s - a XENIX semaphore;
m - a XENIX shared data (memory) file;
D - a Solaris door;
n - a HP-UX network special file;
- - a plain file.
and I've heard rumours of a "*" appearing - anyone know about that?
The following characters are grouped 3 by three:
First three - the user (file owner's) permissions
Next three - the group permissions
First three - the permissions other users have
and the characters you'll find are:
r - the file is readable
w - the file is writable
x - the file is executable (or accessible for a directory)
- - the indicated permission is not granted.
The user execute character may also be:
s - the file has set-user-ID mode
S - the set-user-ID bit is set on the file but it is not executable
The group execute character may also be:
s - the file has set-group-ID mode;
l - mandatory locking is enabled for the file (standard)
L - mandatory locking is enabled for the file (Posix)
And the other group execute character may also be:
t - the sticky bit of the mode is on
T - the sticky bit is on but the file is not executable
(written 2007-02-06, updated 2007-02-07)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
G998 - Well House Consultants - Newsletter Highlighted Box [1011] Well House Manor and Beechfield House, Hotels, Melksham - (2006-12-29)
[1132] Well House Manor, Melksham, Art Gallery - (2007-04-02)
[1237] What proportion of our web traffic is robots? - (2007-06-19)
[1307] Troy, up state New York - (2007-08-17)
[1375] Python v Ruby - (2007-10-02)
[1475] Tcl/Tk - updating your display while tasks are running - (2007-12-16)
[1521] Evening drive across the roof of Wiltshire - (2008-01-27)
[1621] Linux and Java Course in London - (2008-04-24)
[1629] A short introduction to our courses - (2008-05-03)
[1751] Public Training Course Dates until July 2009 - (2008-08-13)
[1843] How many cups of coffee? - (2008-10-17)
[1967] LinkedIn - Thrice Asked, and joined. - (2008-12-30)
[2050] Why the Pony Tail? - (2009-02-21)
[2125] We have lost a regular business guest - (2009-04-10)
[2222] A (biased?) comparison of PHP courses in the UK - (2009-06-07)
[2385] Reading all our recent news from a single source - (2009-08-29)
[2400] Are you wanting to learn PHP? - (2009-09-08)
[2520] Global and Enable - two misused words! - (2009-11-30)
[3168] Web Sites - Subject to Advertising Standards from 1st March - check your sites - (2011-02-13)
A101 - Web Application Deployment - Linux -An Introduction For Users [73] vi - full circle - (2004-10-04)
[74] pushd and popd - (2004-10-05)
[152] Aladdin, or careful what you wish. - (2004-12-15)
[249] An easy way out - (2005-03-17)
[430] Linux commands - some basics - (2005-08-31)
[431] File permissions of Linux and Unix systems - (2005-08-31)
[593] Finding where the disc space has gone - (2006-02-06)
[659] Web Application Components - (2006-03-28)
[679] More or less on the edge of the page - (2006-04-11)
[703] Copying files and preserving ownership - (2006-04-28)
[710] Linux training Glasgow, Python programming course Dundee - (2006-05-05)
[711] THE home directory or MY home directory - (2006-05-06)
[749] Cottage industry or production line data handling methods - (2006-06-07)
[984] Cardinal numbers and magic numbers - (2006-12-14)
[1012] Moving files between Windows / DOS and Linux / Unix - (2006-12-30)
[1013] Copy multiple files - confusing error message from cp - (2006-12-30)
[1259] Where am I and how did I get here? - (2007-07-05)
[1287] Work and play at Well House Manor - Football and Shell Shortcuts - (2007-08-02)
[1288] Linux run states, shell special commands, and directory structures - (2007-08-03)
[1366] awk - a powerful data extraction and manipulation tool - (2007-09-25)
[1408] Wireless hotel tips - FTP and Skype connections failing - (2007-10-26)
[1438] Copy and paste / cut and paste and other vi techniques - (2007-11-20)
[1527] Selecting file names in a shell - one word or another - (2008-02-02)
[1651] ls command - favourite options - (2008-05-23)
[1764] Yank and Push - copy and move in vi - (2008-08-21)
[1803] FTP passive mode - a sometimes cure for upload hangs - (2008-09-20)
[1893] Some Linux and Unix tips - (2008-11-18)
[1897] Keeping on an even keel - (2008-11-21)
[1902] sstrwxrwxrwx - Unix and Linux file permissions - (2008-11-23)
[1904] Ruby, Perl, Linux, MySQL - some training notes - (2008-11-23)
[2201] Running straight from the jar, but not from a tar - (2009-05-26)
[2203] Always use su with minus. And where do programs come from? - (2009-05-27)
[2299] How much space does my directory take - Linux - (2009-07-20)
[2300] What does x on a linux directory mean? - (2009-07-21)
[2479] Accidentally typed ci rather than vi? - (2009-10-27)
[2494] Making Linux Politically correct - (2009-11-06)
[2636] Linux - useful tips including history and file name completion - (2010-02-15)
[2831] Recording (a macro) in vi - (2010-06-27)
[3179] Oops - I typed ci not vi, and have lost my file ... - (2011-02-21)
[3256] Displaying a directory or file system tree - Linux - (2011-04-22)
[3791] The Kernel, Shells and Daemons. Greek Gods in computing - (2012-07-01)
[3819] Packing a tar, jar or war file - best practise - (2012-07-26)
Some other Articles
Well House Manor in the SnowMaking a mountain out of a molehillJava Deployment course - lunch breakRail trouble forced me to buy hotells -l report, Linux / Unix - types and permssionsSerialization in Java - all layers required!Final, Finally and Finalize - three special words in JavaGraham Ellis - an IntroductionLight and shadows at BeachBradford-on-Avon - 150 years of passenger trains