Linux目录以dot开头

Question

Is there anything special about directories which start with a dot . in Linux (Ubuntu), such as ~/.vim ? Thanks.

Answer 1

Files and directories whose names begin with a dot ( . ) by default are not displayed in directory listings by the standard command ls . Therefore, they are traditionally used to store settings, preferences, etc .. Directory ~/.vim in particular surely contains personal preferences and settings for the text editor vim .

There are also two special directory names in this class: the directory named simply . is an alias for the same directory in which it appears (a self reference), and the directory named .. refers to the parent directory of . .

Many graphical file browsers ignore the convention of hiding file names beginning with a . , so it is not necessarily correct any longer to call these files "hidden". Nevertheless, that terminology persists.

Answer 2

In UNIX-like environments, a filename preceded by a dot indicates a hidden file. It's mainly a mechanism to decrease clutter in directory listings. You can get a listing of hidden files by passing the -a parameter to ls

Answer 3

Those are hidden. You'd need to apply extra effort to see them.