Filenames and pathnames

To access any file or directory, you must specify a pathname, a symbolic name that tells a program where to find a file within the directory hierarchy based at root (/).

A typical QNX Neutrino pathname looks like this:

/home/fred/.profile

In this example, .profile is found in the fred directory, which in turn resides in the home directory, which is found in /, the root directory:

Like Linux and other Unix-like operating systems, QNX Neutrino pathname components are separated by a forward slash (/). This is unlike Microsoft operating systems, which use a backslash (\).

Note: To explore the files and directories on your system, use the ls utility. This is the equivalent of dir in MS-DOS. For more information, see Basic commands in Using the Command Line, or ls in the Utilities Reference.