FreeBSD® Unleashed

File and Directory Permissions

Refer to the files in Listing 10.1. It's now time to examine the permissions strings on these files and directories more carefully. The first thing we should notice is that on directories, the first bit in the string is a d. This is simply a flag, and doesn't really indicate permissions that can be controlled; it is, however, a useful means of distinguishing between files and directories.

The rest of the bits in the string are fairly straightforward: three groups of three, showing respectively the read, write, and execute permissions for the user owner, the group owner, and others. For instance, contents.html is readable and writable by both the user and group owners, and only readable by anyone else.

Note that ...