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File Permissions

Every file and directory in linux has read, write and execute permissions (access rights) for each of the following user groups:
  • user: the file's owner
  • group: the members of the file's group
  • other: everyone else
read, write and execute have slightly different meanings for files vs directories:
  • read: For a normal file, read permission allows a user to view the contents of the file. For a directory, read permission allows a user to view the names of the file in the directory eg use ls
  • write: For a normal file, write permission allows a user to modify and delete the file. For a directory, write permission allows files within the directory to be created, deleted or renamed.
  • execute: For a normal file, execute permission allows a user to execute a file. For a directory it means a user may enter the directory eg cd into it. It is also necessary to be able to access(read, write, execute) items in the directory.