SUSE Linux 10.0 Unleashed

Essential File System Commands from the /bin and /sbin Directories

The /bin (short for binary)directory holds your shell applications and many essential shell commands you need when running and booting Linux. The /sbin (or system binary)directory contains the various installed file systems, YaST, the SUSE Firewall, and other commands needed at boot or for the Root user to solve systemwide problems. On the average system, each directory will have 5 8MB worth of files in them, with /sbin a little bit bigger than /bin. Many, if not all, of these commands are statically linked, not dependent on other software libraries located in other directories (mostly /lib and /usr/lib). Nearly every other application on your system relies on one or more of these external (or shared) libraries to run. These dynamically linked applications create a software ecosystem that ties an application to its operating system. Statically linked applications and commands, along with the kernel, represent the operating system itself.