DIR(5) DIR(5)
NAME
dir - format of directories
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#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
inode entry; see filsys(5). The structure of a directory
entry as given in the include file is:
#define DIRSIZ 14
struct direct
{
ino_t d_ino;
char d_name[DIRSIZ];
};
By convention, the first two entries in each directory are
`.' for the directory itself and `..' for the parent
directory. In the ultimate root directory `..' is the same
as `.'.
It is inadvisable to read directories using this structure.
The routines in directory(3) and dirread(2) are more effi-
cient and portable.
SEE ALSO
filsys(5), directory(3), dirread(2)