The Linux Filesystem

Definitions

Linux file system is a built-in layer of a Linux operating system that handles storage data management.
The Linux file system is organized in a tree-like manner. The directory tree is another name for the tree like structure. It maintains a file's name, size, creation data, and much more information.
A filesystem's primary function is to represent and arrange the system's storage resources.
It includes a root directory that contains other files and folders.
While Windows users commonly use the term folder, in Linux terminology folders are referred to as directories.

A pathname is a text string made up of one or more names separated by forward slashes (/).
A pathname is a path of names that indicates how to find something in the hierarchical file system tree.
Here are some examples of pathnames:

A single name doesn't need any slashed as separators.
The filesystem is represented as a single unified hierarchy that begins with the directory and descends via an arbitrary number of subdirectories.
UNIX/Linux files are arranged in a single tree hierarchical file system structure composed of data files and directories.
The relative path is tied to the current directory, whereas an absolute path indicates the location from the root directory.

Everything in a Linux system is a file, and anything that isn't a file is a process.
The majority of file system implementations define seven file types.
Even when developers add something new and fantastic to the file tree, it must still appear like one of these seven types:

Text, audio, video, photos, scripts, and programs are examples of regular or ordinary files that store data of various content types.
The vast majority of files found on UNIX and Linux are standard files.
Regular files in Linux can be generated with or without an extension.
Regular files begin with the letter -

A directory is a collection of named references to other files.
It is a binary file that is used to monitor and find other files and folders.
You can use mkdir to create directories and mkdir to delete them if they are empty.
File systems employ directories to organize files in a hierarchy.
The Linux file system begins with the directory /, sometimes known as root directory.
The directory is where all files and directory files are produced. Each directory, with the exception of the root directory, has a parent directory.

All hardware devices are treated as special files in Linux.
A special file's aim is to expose the device as a file in the file system.
File I/O tools can access the device, a particular file provides a universal interface for physical devices.
When data is read from or written to a special file, the operation occurs instantaneously and is not governed by standard filesystem rules.
A character special file is a device that sends data in bytes, such as a monitor or printer. A block special device, such as a hard disk, that transfers data in blocks.
A block special file hat gives access to a device that transfers data in fixed-size groups. As an example, consider a disk.
A character special file that allows access to a device that transfers in single character increments, such as a terminal.

Applications use sockets as communication endpoints to share data.
For instance, if a local system program wishes to talk to a remote system application, it connects that application's socket using the socket's associated IP address and port number.
A socket is used by each application that offers services to remote customers or other programs.
Each socket has a port number and IP address that enables it to receive connections from clients.
Linux employs socket files to simplify communication between local applications.
Applications running on the local system can communicate data using socket files without having to go through the difficult networking and sockets and process.
Instead of using an IP address and port number, socket files utilize a file name as their address.
The sendmsg() and recvmsg() system functions are used by socket files to provide inter-process communication between local programs.

Named pipes, like local domain sockets, allow communication between two processes running on the same host. Also known as FIFO files.
Use of command mknod to construct named pipes and command rm to delete them.
Named pipes and local domain sockets provide similar functions, and their existence is largely historical.
If UNIX and Linux were designed today, neither would exist; network sockets would take their place.

a link file is a file that points to another file.
Link files enables to use a file that has a different filename and is located in a different location.
A had link and a symbolic or soft link are the two sorts of linkages.
Hard link and soft link: