Define - /etc? 548
ogar572 asks: "There has been an ongoing and heated debate around the office concerning the definition of what /etc means on *nix operating systems. One side says "et cetera" per Wikipedia. Another side says it means 'extended tool chest' per this gnome mailing list entry or per this Norwegian article. Yet another side says neither, but he doesn't remember exactly what he heard in the past. All he remembers is that he was flamed when he called it 'et cetera', but that 'extended tool chest' didn't sound right either. So, what does it really mean?"
Pronunciation? (Score:2, Insightful)
Could be... (Score:3, Insightful)
Extended Tool Chest? (Score:5, Insightful)
/etc has not always been just configuration files (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Backward etymology (Score:3, Insightful)
You might as well make the same comparison for any library that gives apps a standard way to query configuration options, and that stores the data in a standard format.
Re:etc stands for... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's et cetera. If you look at the Unix hierarchy, you get:
It's not about configuration files, either. /etc is home to both configuration and system-essential files, such as passwd and motd. I wouldn't call passwd "configuration," and I wouldn't call it "data." It's more "control." But that doesn't matter - the stuff in /etc just wouldn't fit anywhere else. All the backronyms in the world won't change that.
sounds ungeeky to me (Score:3, Insightful)
Best description I've seen for /etc... (Score:4, Insightful)
Personally I'm in the "et setera" camp, and prefer the spoken form "et see".
Re:etc stands for... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:etc stands for... (Score:5, Insightful)
...as opposed to the non-editable, non-text configuration files that Unix systems are famous for?
These are the people who named the editor "ed". Don't overthink it.
Re:Pronunciation? (Score:4, Insightful)
In my mind I always label people who insist on saying it exactly like it's written down as amatures, or anal retentive, though people who try to come up with ways of saying things like "url" make my teeth hurt.
Re:Pronunciation? (Score:3, Insightful)
You're quite right of course, but do you actually use these pronunciations in casual conversation?
Not that I have a lot of cause to randomly speak in Latin, but when I do, I usually say "venee, vedee, veechee", "et setera", "Sisero", rather than the corresponding correct versions with double-U's and hard C's. To do otherwise would usually prompt a blank look, followed by an forced explanation on my part which would probably come off as being rather pedantic.
Re:Pronunciation? (Score:2, Insightful)
Who needs a million? That happens to me every time I read a single line of perl code.
Re:first post (Score:4, Insightful)
As for the
http://www.pathname.com/fhs/ [pathname.com]
Re:It means (Score:1, Insightful)
Since no one below really seems to have an authoritative answer. it might be best to just call it "etsee" and let it go at that. If a specific meaning feels good to you, think it to yourself and don't say it out loud.
In any case, it's about as useful as trying to figure out the correct pronunciation and accent position for sci-fi characters whose names look like Thryyggdenlmp -- just go with whatever your first reaction is.
Re:Pronunciation? (Score:3, Insightful)
I wonder what that says about Microsoft
Re:Disingenious backronym (Score:3, Insightful)
but then there was the sendmail configuration...
Re:Wow, I feel old (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the sort of thing that makes me distrust historical interpretation of stuff that actually matters.
Re:Backronym. (Score:3, Insightful)