[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]
“In the previous article we saw how the hidden
directory entries named . (dot) and .. (dot dot) tie the filesystem
together. Those names are hard links that reference the actual
filesystem object through the index number. A directory always has
at least two names: . and its given name. You can always reach the
parent directory through the .. entry.“Now let’s dig into how pathnames and permissions work
internally. (If you’re familiar with all of this, try the
quiz at the end.)“Two Paths to the Same Place
“Pathnames can confuse users, but they’re actually simple
when you see how they work. A pathname gives the location of an
object (a file, a directory, a socket, etc.) in the filesystem.
There are two kinds of pathname: absolute (or full) and
relative:”