![]() A backslash is not used to represent the root directory in such operating systems because, in contrast to Unix-like systems, there is no single root directory rather, a separate letter of the alphabet is used for each root directory.įorward slashes are used in such operating systems, but their role is to indicate a switch (i.e., an option) for a command. The backslash is an upward-to-the-left sloping straight line character that is a mirror image of the forward slash. This contrasts with paths in MS-DOS and similar operating systems (such as FreeDOS) and the Microsoft Windows operating systems, in which directories and files are separated with backslashes. Thus, for example, in the absolute path /home/roberto/sales/, the first slash represents the root directory, the second and third slashes separate directories, and the final slash indicates that sales is a directory rather than a file. A forward slash is also used following the final item in either type of path to indicate that that item is a directory. ![]() A relative path is the location of a filesystem object relative to the current directory (i.e., the directory in which a user is currently working). Thus every absolute path, which is the address of a filesystem object (e.g., file or directory) relative to the root directory, begins with a forward slash.įorward slashes are also used as separators for filesystem objects in both absolute paths and relative paths. In Linux and other Unix-like operating systems, a forward slash is used to represent the root directory, which is the directory that is at the top of the directory hierarchy and that contains all other directories and files on the system. Forward slash definition by The Linux Information Project (LINFO) LINFOĪ forward slash is an upward-to-the-right sloping straight line character that has several important applications in a computer context.
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