C:<\/code> \u2192 the main system drive<\/li>\n\n\n\nD:<\/code> \u2192 a second hard drive or DVD drive<\/li>\n\n\n\nE:<\/code> \u2192 a USB drive, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n- Each drive has its own separate root directory<\/strong>, e.g.:\n
\nC:\\Windows<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nD:\\Music<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nSo in Windows, the letter defines a separate file tree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nLinux<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- Linux does not<\/strong> use drive letters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Instead, it uses a single unified file hierarchy<\/strong>, starting from a single root directory:
\/<\/code> Everything\u2014no matter which drive or partition it comes from\u2014is placed somewhere inside this tree<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n- Other drives or partitions are mounted<\/strong> into this hierarchy at specific locations called mount points<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Examples:\n
\n\/ \u2190 root filesystem (usually on the main drive)<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n\/home \u2190 might be on another partition<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n\/mnt\/usb \u2190 a mounted USB stick<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n\/media\/cdrom \u2190 a mounted CD-ROM<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nSo when you mount a new drive, you \u201cattach\u201d it somewhere in the directory tree, rather than giving it a letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udd20 2. File and Directory Names (Case Sensitivity)<\/h2>\n\n\n\nWindows<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- Case-insensitive<\/strong> (mostly):\n
\nDocument.txt<\/code>, document.txt<\/code>, and DOCUMENT.TXT<\/code> are considered the same file<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n- Windows file systems (NTFS, FAT32) preserve case, but the OS generally doesn\u2019t distinguish it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Linux<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- Case-sensitive<\/strong>:\n
\nDocument.txt<\/code>, document.txt<\/code>, and DOCUMENT.TXT<\/code> are different files<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n- This applies everywhere, including filenames, directory names, and commands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd \/Home # Error if the directory is actually \/home<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83e\udde9 3. File Paths and Separators<\/h2>\n\n\n\nConcept<\/th> Windows<\/th> Linux<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Path separator<\/td> Backslash \\<\/code><\/td>Forward slash \/<\/code><\/td><\/tr>Root directory<\/td> Drive letter + :\\<\/code> (e.g. C:\\<\/code>)<\/td>Single \/<\/code><\/td><\/tr>Example path<\/td> C:\\Users\\Peter\\Documents<\/code><\/td>\/home\/peter\/documents<\/code><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nLinux paths look simpler, and \/<\/code> is consistent across all systems (including macOS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udd12 4. Permissions and Ownership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Linux uses ownership and permissions<\/strong> (user\/group\/other + read\/write\/execute flags).
Example: -rw-r--r-- user group file.txt<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n- Windows uses Access Control Lists (ACLs)<\/strong>, which are more complex but conceptually similar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\u2699\ufe0f 5. Drives in Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To see drives in Linux:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
lsblk<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis shows block devices like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sda\n\u251c\u2500sda1\n\u251c\u2500sda2\nsdb\n\u2514\u2500sdb1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThese represent physical devices (\/dev\/sda<\/code>, \/dev\/sdb<\/code>) and their partitions (\/dev\/sda1<\/code>, etc.).
You mount them to directories like \/mnt<\/code> or \/media<\/code> to access their contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udd0d Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n