Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about words/terms that are specific to Unix and/or Linux.
184
questions
-1
votes
0
answers
10
views
Documentation standard/nomenclature when to use explicitly the 'show' or 'display' term?
Mostly through man documentation is used either the show and display term when an output is shown/displayed in the terminal. It either with an option or without an option.
Just being curious:
Question
...
- 1,774
-1
votes
1
answer
55
views
Why doesn't 'export' give the export attribute while 'set -a' does?
From man bash (GNU bash, version 5.2.21(1)-release (x86_64-pc-cygwin)):
set [-abefhkmnptuvxBCEHPT] [-o option-name] [--] [-] [arg ...]
-a Each variable or function that is created or modified is ...
- 619
-1
votes
1
answer
54
views
'input-file' and 'output-file' vs. 'source-file' and 'target-file' as generic names
When documenting command-line things, it is often necessary to use generic names.
Sometimes I use input and output words, and they play nice:
# example 1
pandoc input_file.md -o output_file.htm
But ...
- 73
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
Name of the arrow icons that tell you there is a subdirectory in a menu?
I don't know how exactly to describe it verbally,
but I just mean the white triangular arrows in this example image:
In an icon theme that I'm trying to use they either don't exist or are the exact ...
4
votes
0
answers
149
views
Why is a loop device called a "loop" device?
As far as I understand, a loop device is a regular file that acts as a block device.
It's used for various things like isolation in snap packages and installing ISOs over an existing filesystem.
But ...
- 41
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is a device manager in the context of Linux?
What is a device manager in the context of Linux?
That is, what is it that a device manager actually does?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udev says
udev (userspace /dev) is a device manager for the ...
- 61
1
vote
2
answers
53
views
Each file gets one inode block
A question was given to us by a lecturer:
How many data blocks are needed to collect all the data in an EXT4
file system using inodes if the file size is 54 KB and there is a
block size of 4KB.
...
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
77
views
How to understand fontconfig output: "Pattern has 38 elts (size 48)"
When running with verbose output, and sometime even without, the first thing fontconfig writes about any font is a line like the following:
Pattern has 38 elts (size 48)
What do these numbers ...
- 953
3
votes
0
answers
114
views
What is "external fragmentation" in a file system?
I'm using EXT4, but I think my question concerns all Unix/Linux file systems.
This 2022 answer to "Difference between fragment and extent in ext4" states that:
External fragmentation occurs ...
- 1,795
1
vote
1
answer
147
views
Tracking Fields in Chrony
When I study with chronyc tracking command I got some fields and I need more description about it.
chronyc tracking
----------------
Reference ID : B9E84541 (nobody.yourvserver.net)
Stratum ...
-1
votes
2
answers
137
views
How shall I understand dependency propagated? [closed]
https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#ssec-stdenv-dependencies-reference says
A dependency is said to be propagated when some of its other-transitive (non-immediate) downstream dependencies also ...
- 103k
-2
votes
1
answer
130
views
What do "derivation" and "build" mean?
The manpage of nix-build says:
The nix-build command builds the derivations described by the Nix expressions in paths.
What does "derivation" mean? Is it the same as "package"? ...
- 103k
0
votes
1
answer
256
views
"man cat" mentions "LFD." What is "LFD?"
man cat says:
-v, --show-nonprinting
use ^ and M- notation, except for LFD and TAB
I checked info cat, and it uses the same acronym:
‘-v’
‘--show-nonprinting’
Display ...
- 975
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
What does "site-wide" mean?
I'm reading man hier, which says:
/etc
Contains configuration files which are local to the machine. Some larger software packages, like X11, can have their own subdirectories below /etc. Site-...
- 317
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
Why is XCU the abbreviation for "Shell and Utilities" and XSH the abbreviation for "System Interfaces"?
POSIX is divided into 4 major volumes, and the abbreviations XBD, XSH, XCU and XRAT are used throughtout, respectively standing for "Base Definitions", "Shell and Utilities", "...
- 153