DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17864565
title: Filesystems Hierarchy Layouts Research Project

description: Having trouble working with filesystems hierarchy layouts especially those that has standardized regulations like UNIX and Windows? Are you looking for some design references that are comforming and portable to as many operating as possible? This is the right research dataset.

At (Holloway) Chew, Kean Ho's Filesystems Hierarchy Layouts Research Project, tech volunteers and me are continuously updating this repository for abstracting common filesystems and directory layouts for various purposes. The research goals are simple:



Maximizing Compatibilities, Minimizing Conflicts - analyzes and abstracts various standards for common patterns. Through these patterns, new projects can maximize inter-compatibilities and minimizing conflicts across multiple operating systems; AND

Unifying Filesystems - With common patterns in filesystems and directory organizations, packaging software for end-user can be simplified and unified for easier and maintainable maintenances works, automations, documentations, and communitions sakes; AND

Solid and Hygienic Design References For Project Structuring - something clean and reliable to refer (not a rule to enforce) when designing a project directory layout.


This dataset is a 100% deterministic with futuristic directive concequencies. It is 100% human-made. Direct artificial intelligences (A.I) contributions (e.g. vibe coding) IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Only use A.I. for non-concequential tasks like scouting for data source materials across the broken search engines.





Warning

REMEMBER: THESE ARE DESIGN REFERENCES; NOT RELIGIOUS RULES. In other words, they are opinions.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELIGIOUSLY ENFORCE your project layouts by pointing back to this project. IN NO WAY this project is encourages anyone to adhere opinions.

Fanatism destroys. Please act responsbily and sensibly.



To use this dataset, first setup the markdown rendering git repository (e.g. its GitHub mirror: https://github.com/ChewKeanHo/researches-filesystems-hierarchy). There you can read the descriptions of each directory. For dataset, you need an UNIX program called tree. Then execute the command:



$ tree -a -d path/to/TARGET/



The final outputs are consolidated into:



Common Directory Structure - the /Common. This is used for all common functioning directories that can combine with other directories for inter-compatible interpretations.

User Home Directory Structure - the /User. This is used to setup an user's home directory especially for graphical user interface. It can combine with other directories for inter-compatible interpretations.

UNIX Filesystems Hierarchy - the /UNIX. The abstracted compatible filesystems across ALL UNIX OSes including BSD and Linux-based.


Any specific filesystem hierarchies are prefixed with an underscore (_). These are dedicated directories for consolidating their respective specific designs prior to /UNIX abstractions. Among them are:



FreeBSD Filesystems Hierarchy - the /_FreeBSD UNIX-like OS.

Linux Filesystems Hierarchy - the /_Linux-based UNIX-like OS. Note that this consolidates all kinds of Linux-based OSes including but not limited to SystemD, FreeDesktop.org, Red Hat, Debian, Devuan, Void Linux, Fedora, etc.

Project Directory Structures - the /_Project commonly used for small modular project repository (e.g. git project repository).