Directory Structure can be understood as follows
Some of the more essential and commonly used directories in Linux directory hierarchy are listed in the Table drawn below. Many of the directories listed in the table can also be found in a UNIX file system.
Table of Important directories in the Linux operating system along with their purpose
/ The root directory (not to be concerned with root account) is similar to a drive letter in the Windows (C:\, D:\, etc.) except that in the Linux directory structure there is just one root directory and the whole lot falls under it (including other file systems and the partitions). The root directory is the directory which comprises all other directories. When a directory structure is displayed as the tree, the root directory is at the top of it. Typically no files or programs are saved directly under root.
/bin This directory holds the binary executable files which are essential for the correct operation of system (exactly which binaries are in this directory is often dependent upon distribution of it). These binaries are usually available for use by all the users. /usr/bin can also be used for this function.
/boot This directory includes necessary system boot files including the kernel image .
/dev This directory contains the devices available to the Linux. Remember that the Linux treats devices like that of files and you can read and write to them as well. Everything from the floppy drives to printers to your mouse is contained in this particular directory. Included in this directory is notorious /dev/null, which is quite useful for deleting the outputs of various, functions and programs.
/etc Linux uses this directory to save the system configuration files. Most of the files in this directory are of text and can be edited by making use of your favourite text editor. This is one of Linux's biggest advantages because there is certainly not a hidden check box and just about all your configurations are in one place only. /etc/inittab is a text file which details what processes are started at system boot up and during the regular operation. /etc/fstab identifies file systems and their mount points (such as floppy, CD-ROM, and hard disk drives). /etc/passwd is where the users are defined.
/home This is where every user on the Linux system will have a personal directory.
If your username is "chris" then your home directory will become "/home/chris". A quick method to return to your home directory is by entering "cd" command. Your current working directory will be changed to home directory of your own. Generally, the permissions on the user directories are set so that only the root and the user directory can access or store information inside it. When partitioning the Linux file system this directory will typically require the most space.
/lib The shared libraries and the kernel modules were stored in this particular directory. The libraries can be dynamically linked which makes them much similar to DLL files in Windows environment.
/lost+found This is the directory where the Linux keeps files which are restored after the crash or when a partition hasn't been unmounted properly before the shutdown of the system.
/mnt Used for mounting the temporary filesystems. Filesystems can be mounted anywhere but the /mnt directory gives the convenient place in the Linux directory structure to mount the temporary file systems.
/opt it is often used for the storage of large applications packages
/proc This is the special, "virtual" directory where system processes are saved. This directory doesn't physically exist but you can still often view (or read) the entries in this directory.
/root The home directory for the superuser (root). Not to be confused with root (/) directory of Linux file system.
/sbin Utilities used for the system administration (such as halt, ifconfig, fdisk, etc.) are saved in this directory. /usr/sbin, and /usr/local/sbin are the other directories which are used for this purpose as well. /sbin/init.d is scripts used by /sbin/init to begin the system.
/tmp It is used for storing temporary files. Similar to the C:\Windows\Temp.
/usr it is typically a shareable, read-only directory. Contains user applications and supporting the files for those applications. /usr/X11R6 is used by X Window System. /usr/bin contains the user accessible commands. /usr/doc holds the documentation for /usr applications. /usr/include this directory comprises of header files for the C compiler. /usr/include/g++ contains header files for C++ compiler. /usr/lib libraries, binaries, and object files which aren't usually executed directly by the users. /usr/local used for installing the software locally which needs to be safe from being overwritten when the system software updates occur. /usr/man is place where the manual pages are kept.
/usr/share is for read-only the independent data files. /usr/src is used for storing the source code of applications installed and kernel sources and the headers of the files.
/var This directory comprises of variable data files like logs (/var/log), mail
(/var/mail), and spools (/var/spool) amongst the other things.
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