I'm trying to understand what is exactly a file system. I found various answers on the web including the ones provided here: . While these answers provide valuable informations, it's still unclear to me whether a file system is: a - A collection of data structures (inodes, master file table, file allocation table, ...) that index files and directories . b - A collection of data structures that index files and directories and the file tree. c - A file tree (mounting a file system, mounting a network file system, the /proc file system).
I have used Windows since childhood, and when I hear the phrase "Windows filesystem" I think of directories (folders) within directories, a folder called SYSTEM, a folder called PROGRAM FILES etc. Is this what the system is? Just the layout of the folders?  And then I recently started using Linux, and my reference book says in the linux filesystem everything starts at root and branches off from there. How is that really different from Windows? I mean, it seems the linux system and the windows system are just two ways of setting up a directory tree.  Is this what file system means?
Proper use of passive and active voices? Which fuels burn the longest in Minecraft? How can I know what speed card to get for my camera? Cameras rarely specify exactly what speed cards you should be using in them - I just checked the manual for my DSLR, and all it says is to use an SDHD card, and a "high speed" card should be used for recording video.  On the other hand, there are a number of different rating systems for memory card speed (33x! 150x! Class 2! Class 10!) and price seems to increase with speed.  Is there any way to test the maximum write speed the camera is capable of?  Are the read/write speeds documented anywhere? "Not being good at swimming, he didn't like it." Could we omit the word "being" here? Not being good at swimming, he didn't like it.   Could we omit the word "being" here?     Not good at swimming, he didn't like it.   Which one is grammatically correct? Does Stack Exchange contain any edit suggestion or bug submission system, or such type of discussion forum to inform SO or its administrators about suggestions and bug reports that relate to SO itself? Where can I find legendary crafting materials? When is $2^n \pm 1$ a perfect power Is there an easy way of showing that $2^n \pm 1$ is never a perfect power, except for $2^3 + 1 = 3^2 $?  I know that   gives the result directly, but I'm hopefully for a more elementary method.    I can show that it is never a square, except for $2^3 + 1$.  Proof: Cases $n=1, 2, 3$ are easily dealt with. Henceforth, let $n\geq4$.  $2^n -1 \equiv 3 \pmod{4}$ hence is never a square.     If $2^n +1 =x^2$, then $2^n = (x-1)(x+1)$ and both of these are powers of 2. Thus we must have $(x-1) = 2, (x+1) = 4$. This gives the solution of $2^3 + 1 = 3^2$.    Let's now do an odd prime.  Say $2^n +1 = x^p$. Then $2^n = x^p - 1 = (x-1)(x^{p-1}+x^{p-2} + \ldots +1)$, so both terms are powers of 2. We have $ x = 2^m+1$ is odd. But the other term is the sum of $p$ odd numbers, hence is odd. Since this is clearly greater than 1, we get a contradiction.  Say $2^n -1 = x^p$. Then $2^n = x^p + 1 = (x+1)(x^{p-1} - x^{p-2} + \ldots -x +1 )$, so both terms are powers of 2. We have $x = 2^m -1$ is odd. But the other term is the sum of $p$ odd numbers, hence is odd. Since $x^p + 1 \neq x+1$ except for $p=1$, this means that the term is greater than 1. Hence we get a contradiction. Why does division by zero with floating point (or double precision) numbers not throw java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero in Java Setting PATH variable in /etc/environment vs .profile Where is the preferred place to set the PATH envvar?  ~/.profile or /etc/environment?  What is the case when PATH is set in both places? Is the end result a concatenation of both values set in those two places? Is it possible to save frequently used expressions in QGIS? Is there any way to save frequently used expressions in the selection or field calculator dialogs? Obviously I can cut and paste them into a file where I might save them, but I mean within the context of QGIS like you can do in ArcMap. Show that $8 \mid (a^2-b^2)$ for $a$ and $b$ both odd If $a,b \in \mathbb{Z}$ and odd, show $8 \mid (a^2-b^2)$.   Let $a=2k+1$ and $b=2j+1$. I tried to get $8\mid (a^2-b^2)$ in to some equivalent form involving congruences and I started with $$a^2\equiv b^2 \mod{8} \Rightarrow 4k^2+4k \equiv 4j^2+4j \mod{8}$$ $$\Rightarrow k^2+k-j^2-j=2m$$ for some $m \in \mathbb{Z}$ but I am not sure this is heading anywhere that I can tell.  Second attempt: Use Euler's Theorem and as $\gcd(a,8)=\gcd(b,8)=1$ and $\phi(8)=4$, $a^4 \equiv b^4 \equiv 1 \mod 8$ so $a^4-b^4\equiv 0 \mod{8}$.  I haven't gotten too much further are there any hints? QGIS 2.0 - can't select items in Print Composer interaction between mathematical structures From a physicist's perspective there are several situations in which somehow arbitrary choices of mathematical structures can be made. One can describe a system from different perspectives, etc. without changing anything in the physical properties. (see gauge invariance, picture changing etc.) In the situation when these choices impose a mathematical structure one has limitations in the subsequent choices (are these limitations physical???). However, there are situations when this prescription does not hold. The best example is in this case the Black-Hole complementarity principle (if it is well defined in the first place). So, the question about how mathematical structures "interact" in a logical way is not a bad one. Again: what is the interaction between, say, locality and Hausdorff-ity in the case of a black hole? Or what is the true relation between metrizability and hausdorff-ity of a space in the context of a black hole? The question about how mathematical structures assigned (innocently) at some point interact in different situations is in my opinion a quite relevant one... I understand there is a method for solving simultaneous modular equations. For example; $$x = 2 \mod{3}$$ $$x = 3 \mod{5}$$ $$x = 2 \mod{7}$$ We find numbers equal to the product of every given modulo except one of them - giving $5 \cdot 7$, $3 \cdot 7$ and $3 \cdot 5$. We then find the multiplicative inverses of these numbers with modulo equal to the number missing from the product. The numbers found are then 2, 1 and 1 in this case. The value of x is then given by: $$x = 2 \cdot (5 \cdot 7) \cdot 2 + 3 \cdot (3 \cdot 7) \cdot 1 + 2 \cdot (3 \cdot 5) \cdot 1 = 233 = 23 \mod{3\cdot5\cdot7}$$  But I do not understand how this method correctly gives the value of $x$. I understand that the Chinese remainder theorem proves that there is a unique value of $0\le x \lt 3\cdot5\cdot7 \mod{3\cdot5\cdot7}$ but can someone please explain why this method finds this value of x? What are these circular splotches on my negatives? I'm very familiar with how symbols display differently in inline mode (with $ ... $) vs. how display math shows them (with \[ ... \] or $$ ... $$).  Two examples would be with limits  $\lim_{n\rightarrow \infty}f(x)$   vs.  \[ \lim_{n\rightarrow \infty}f(x) \]   and with sums  $\sum_{n=1}^{x} n^2$   vs.  \[ \sum_{n=1}^{x} n^2 \]   My Question is:     How do you display these things in inline mode (with all the nice inline formatting) as if they were in display mode ?   The inverse -- how to display things in display mode as if they were in inline mode -- is also of interest. A generic list of anonymous class In C# 3.0 you can create anonymous class with the following syntax  var o = new { Id = 1, Name = "Foo" };   Is there a way to add these anonymous class to a generic list?  Example:  var o = new { Id = 1, Name = "Foo" }; var o1 = new { Id = 2, Name = "Bar" };  List&lt;var&gt; list = new List&lt;var&gt;(); list.Add(o); list.Add(o1);   Another Example:  List&lt;var&gt; list = new List&lt;var&gt;();  while (....) {     ....     list.Add(new {Id = x, Name = y});     .... } Do I have to code each case of this Grid full of plots separately? How to calculate $\lim \limits_{n \to \infty}(1 +\frac{a}{n})^n$? I'm having trouble understanding the simple "planetary" model of the atom that I'm being taught in my basic chemistry course.   In particular,    I can't see how a negatively charged electron can stay in "orbit" around a positively charged nucleus. Even if the electron actually orbits the nucleus, wouldn't that orbit eventually decay?  I can't reconcile the rapidly moving electrons required by the planetary model with the way atoms are described as forming bonds. If electrons are zooming around in orbits, how do they suddenly "stop" to form bonds.     I understand that certain aspects of quantum mechanics  to address these problems, and that there are  of atoms. My question here is whether the planetary model itself addresses these concerns in some way (that I'm missing) and whether I'm right to be uncomfortable with it.