zlacker

>>csmant+(OP)
This is what happens when a system is designed by multiple people and companies over a long period of time. An amalgam of ideas which are there just because. There's no reason Linux should be like this. e.g., see https://gobolinux.org/ which has more sane dirs.

>>behnam+Cm
Not really, back then disks were very expensive and you had no choice but to split. And disk sizes were very small.

But, I in a way int kind of makes sense.

/bin and /sbin, needed for system boot. /usr/bin and /usr/sbin for normal runtime.

's' for items regular users do not need to run, remember, UN*X is a multi-user system, not a one person system like macs, windows and in most cases Linux.

>>jmclnx+Yo
I really should write that "Yes, Virginia; executables once went in /etc." Frequently Given Answer.

Because it was /etc (and of course the root directory) where the files for system boot and system administration went in some of the Unices of yesteryear. In AT&T Unix System 5 Release 3, for example, /etc was the location of /etc/init, /etc/telinit, and /etc/login .

sbin is actually quite complex, historically, because there were a whole lot of other directories as well.

* https://jdebp.uk/FGA/unix-path-and-personalities.html