Chapter 7 Working with Filesystems

The filesystem is what allows you to create, access, and work with files. An operating system without a filesystem is like a sandwich without bread—you still have something, but it can hardly be called a sandwich.

Many of the files stored in a filesystem actually hold the utilities, startup scripts, and other binaries (including the kernel) that an operating system requires in order to start, run processes, and so on. Without a filesystem—or at least a disk partition (in embedded devices)—in which to store the kernel, you can’t even boot.

This chapter looks at the filesystem and the utilities used to work with it and the associated media. It sets the foundation for the following chapter, which focuses ...

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