Understand the difference between absolute paths and relative paths in Linux

Understand the difference between Linux absolute paths and relative paths

In the Linux system, the file system is organized in a tree structure, and each file or directory has a A unique path to their location in the file system. When using a Linux system, the concepts of absolute paths and relative paths are often involved. This article will explain the difference between absolute paths and relative paths in detail, and use code examples to illustrate their application.

An absolute path is a complete path starting from the root directory describing the location of a file or directory. The root directory is represented by "/" in Linux systems. The absolute path is the path from the root directory all the way back to the file or directory to be accessed. It can be said to be a process of finding the "little leaves" step by step starting from the "big tree". Absolute paths always remain the same, regardless of the current working directory.

A relative path describes the location of a file or directory relative to the current working directory. The current working directory refers to the location of the current user. Relative paths do not need to start from the root directory, but from the current working directory. When users operate in different directories, relative paths can conveniently locate files or directories relative to the current directory.

The following uses specific code examples to illustrate the application of absolute paths and relative paths:

1. Example of absolute paths:

Assume that there is a file test in the Linux system .txt, its absolute path is "/home/user/documents/test.txt". No matter what the current user's working directory is, the absolute path can accurately find this file.

cat /home/user/documents/test.txt

The above command will display the contents of the test.txt file in the terminal, regardless of the current location.

2. Example of relative path:

There is a file hello.txt in the current user's home directory, and the current working directory is /home/user. At this point, the file can be accessed using a relative path.

cat hello.txt

The above command views the contents of the hello.txt file in the current working directory. Since it is a relative path, it does not need to start from the root directory, but is positioned relative to the current directory.

As can be seen from the above examples, the usage and effects of absolute paths and relative paths in Linux systems are different. Understanding the difference between absolute paths and relative paths is crucial for locating files and directories in a Linux system, so that resources in the file system can be managed and operated more conveniently and accurately. I hope this article will inspire readers to become more proficient in using the file path positioning function of the Linux system.

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