absolute path: See absolute pathname. An absolute path is the one and only true path to a file or directory, starting from the root of the filesystem, denoted by "/".

Aside: Hmm, I guess you could have "degenerate" or "malformed" absolute paths -- paths that include references to a parent, something like:

• /usr/../home/user01/testfile.txt

But, that is bad practice for a number of reasons, and may be disallowed entirely (as a security risk). I will discuss this more under relative path or relative pathname.

Actually, a file can have more than one absolute path. My understanding of "absolute path" is just one that starts with "/", so that it's meaning is NOT relative to the user's current working directory. For example, suppose I have the following directory structure:

 /
 +-usr
 | |
 | +-foo (symlink to /home)
 |
 +-home
   |
   +-bar

The file bar can be referenced as "/home/bar" or as "/usr/foo/bar", both of which are absolute paths (i.e., the file they reference does not change based on the user's current working directory).

• TomBarron - 23 Aug 2002

Contributors

• RandyKramer - 29 Jan 2002
• TomBarron - 23 Aug 2002
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