A Practical Outline Rewrite
Introduction
This document shows how an outline changed over time. It compares an early outline with a revised one. The goal is to explain how the structure was improved to better match the purpose of the article.
An Impractical Outline
This outline is an early draft. It is accurate but not very useful. It focuses on definitions and lists instead of how people actually use a Linux system.
The outline tries to cover many topics. It explains what things are, but not how they behave. This makes it harder for a reader to apply the information.
Introduction to File Systems
- Definition of a filesystem
- Brief history of filesystems
- Why filesystems matter
Types of Filesystems
- FAT
- NTFS
- ext4
- ZFS
- Btrfs
- XFS
- Other Linux-supported filesystems
Linux Filesystem Overview
- What is “the Linux filesystem”
- Filesystem hierarchy standard (FHS)
- Everything is a file
Linux Directory Structure
//bin/sbin/usr/etc/var/home/tmp/media/mnt
Permissions and Ownership
- Users and groups
- Read, write, execute
chmod,chown
Common Filesystem Commands
lscdpwdmountdfdu
Differences Between Linux and Windows Filesystems
- Drive letters vs root directory
- NTFS vs ext4
References and Further Reading
- Wikipedia
- Arch Wiki
- TLDP
- Blog posts and videos
A Practical Outline
This outline is focused on how the filesystem is used in real situations. It limits scope to common Linux systems and shared behavior.
The sections are organized around questions a user might ask. The outline emphasizes where files live, who owns them, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Learning the Filesystem Without Guessing
- Why this is an investigation, not a reference
- What “practical” means in this guide
- What confidence looks like at the end
What “Linux Filesystem” Means (and Doesn’t)
- Linux supports many filesystems
- Why we are not cataloging them
- Focusing on Debian / Ubuntu / Mint behavior
- ext4 as the shared baseline
One Big Tree
- Everything lives under
/ - No drive letters
- How disks and USB drives are mounted into the tree
- Why this changes how you think about “where things are”
Your Stuff, the System’s Stuff, and Shared Territory
- Files are not equal
- Responsibility as the organizing principle
- Why this mental model prevents mistakes
The Places You Need to Recognize
/home/etc/ur/binand/bin/var/tmp/mediaand/mnt- What each is for in practice
- What usually breaks if you touch them
How Programs Use the Filesystem
- Installing a program scatters files on purpose
- Binaries vs configs vs state vs logs
- Tracing one program as an example
Why “Permission Denied” Is a Feature
- Ownership and safety rails
- Why most things are locked down
- How permissions reflect responsibility
When Things Go Wrong (and What the Filesystem Is Telling You)
- Editing the wrong file
- Deleting a config and watching a reset
- Running out of space in /var
- Losing a mounted drive
- Reading failures as signals, not mysteries
Why This Matters in a Homelab
- Knowing what to back up
- Knowing what’s disposable
- Rebuilding systems with confidence
- Making cleaner architecture decisions
What You Can Now Predict
- Who owns a path
- Whether it’s safe to touch
- What breaks if it disappears
- Why Linux is behaving the way it is
What changed?
The outline was rewritten to reduce scope and remove unnecessary detail. Topics that required deep background knowledge were removed or de-emphasized.
The revised outline changes the order of sections. It introduces behavior first and definitions later. It also shifts focus from listing features to explaining outcomes and consequences.
Read the full article
Read the full article - A Practical Guide to the Linux Filesystem - to see how the structure supports practical understanding.