On Friday 04 November 2011 11:11:56 Linux Tyro wrote:
> Well, since (now) /home is a separate partition, but we cannot boot from
> /home only because it is not containing the required file to get booted and
> it is only for storing the data.....?
In principle one probably could tweak a system into booting from the /home
partition, but I see no reason to ever want such a configuration.
You want to think of the /home partition as your working area --- it is used
for storing useful personal data, custom configurations of your favorite apps,
local e-mail folders, etc. Something like the "Documents and settings" folder
in Windows, only much more useful.
In Windows people do not have a developed culture of storing their personal
files in their personal folder, while keeping the system files in system
folders. One typically logs in with administrator privileges, and puts files
whereever one sees fit at the moment.
In Linux the culture of separating personal from system is much more
developed. First, Linux inherited the Unix tradition of multi-user systems,
that didn't exist in Windows until recently. The filesystem is organized so
that every usesr's privacy is respected. Second, this is good security-wise
--- an ordinary user is not allowed to put files in system folders or in home
folders of other users, since that could compromise the system security.
Finally, a typical user on a multi-user system does *not* have a root
password, so the *only* part of the disk he can actually access is his piece
of /home. Those users who *do* have the root password know that they should
use it *only* for system administration, ie. when there is no other choice.
Think of the /home as your back-yard space where you can do whatever you want.
The rest of the filesystem is locked-out exclusively for root access (with a
few exceptions). Therefore, it makes sense to physically separate /home from
/. In addition, you can save your personal stuff across system reinstallations,
have it on removable media (such as an usb flash memory stick), etc.
Some people also separate other parts of the filesystem into separate
partitions, like /boot, /etc, /var, /tmp. /srv, and so on, depending on the
planned purpose of the system, and their personal preferences for how to use
it.
You can read more about all this on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard
Best, :-)
Marko
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