Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

The File System
CHAPTER
This chapter will take you on a tour of the Leopard file system to discover what items exist
in what folders and why. We’ll cover the following in depth:
• The overall file structure of Leopard
• The top-level folders, including the System folder, Library folder, and Application folder
• Your personal home folder and its contents
• Other common folders
• Hidden folders
The Overall File Structure of Leopard
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The file system for Leopard is pretty easy to understand. The file system starts at the root of your
primary hard drive (the one from which you boot Leopard). From there, a series of folders
descend downward, each with its own purpose. A basic view of the default file system is shown
in Figure 2-1.
The file system is devised so that certain items belong in certain folders. For example, most
of your applications should go in the Applications folder and most of your personal documents
would go in the Documents folder within your home directory (which will be titled with your short
username).
The term path is often used to describe where something is located in the file system. A path
usually begins with a /, signifying that it begins at the top level of the file system, and then lists
the folder path with a / between each folder. The exception to this is a path that begins with ~.
This indicates that rather than beginning at the top of the file system, the path begins from your
home folder. For example, the path to my Documents folder could be written either as /Users/
scott/Documents/ or ~/Documents/.
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