UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Originally Posted by matrixmadhan

check for the permissions of the directory in which the file resides

the directory should have write and execute permission, then only file under the directory can be deleted

Originally Posted by Hitori

x - search for files in directory
w - add/delete files
so w is enough (you can delete files although you cannot search for them)

plz. correct me if I'm wrong

Originally Posted by Perderabo

What do r w and x really mean for a directory?

A directory is a file too, and "read" permission means you can read it. But you really cannot do very much without x permission as well. With directories, you usually have both read and execute permission or neither. On a directory, that x is officially called "search permission". You need x to use a directory in a pathname. So if you try "cat /etc/passwd", you will need x on / and /etc. You also need x to cd into a directory.Suppose you have read but not search (x) permission on a directory. What can you do? Not much. You can use "ls" to view the file names. Even "ls -l" will not work. Read access without search permission is not very useful. Still that is better than having only write permission on a directory...that is completely useless. I have not seen any other documentation that states this explicitly, so let me repeat it: write but no execute permission on a directory grants nothing at all.Suppose you have search (x) permission but no read permission on a directory. Now you can open files in the directory if you happen to know the file's name. You can cd into the directory. And that is it. You cannot even create a new file. Adding write permission will allow you to create files. And you can then delete files if you happen to know their name.