NAME

dir − format of directories

SYNOPSIS

#include <sys/dir.h>

DESCRIPTION

A directory behaves exactly like an ordinary file, save that no user may write into a directory.  The fact that a file is a directory is indicated by a bit in the flag word of its i-node entry (see fs(5)). The structure of a directory entry as given in the include file is:

#ifndef DIRSIZ
#define DIRSIZ  32
#endif
struct  direct
{
        short   d_type;             /* 1=file, 3=link */
        short   d_len;              /* non-blank chars in name */
        char    d_name[DIRSIZ];     /* name text */
        ino_t   d_ino;              /* "i-node" # */
        dev_t   d_dev;              /* "dev" # */
};

By convention, the first two entries in each directory are for . and ...  The first is an entry for the directory itself.  The second is for the parent directory.  The meaning of .. is modified for the root directory of the master file system; there is no parent, so .. has the same meaning as .. 

SEE ALSO

fs(5).