Basic Terminology

Current Working Directory This is where the calling process is at the time of the call;

Parent Directory an immediate ancestor

Sub-directory (Child Directory) an immediate descendant

Pathname

• A pathname is a location of any specific file.
• A full pathname contains all the branch directories between the root and the specific file.

Absolute pathnames

Absolute pathname declares the path starting at the root directory and declaring each directory on the path.

• start with the root directory
• always start with a slash /
• the absolute pathname to some object is always the same.

Relative pathnames

Relative pathname declares the path in relation to your current position. It does not contain / as the first character.

• start with your current directory
• never start with a slash
• the relative pathname to some object depends on your current directory

Syntax:   <a href="path/file.html">Link label</a>

1. Linking to file in a same directory (current directory is XXX): code in b.html, linking to c.html
   <a href="c.html">Link label</a>
2. Linking to file in a parent directory: code in b.html, linking to a.html
   <a href="../a.html">Link label</a>
3. Linking to file in a subdirectory: code in a.html, linking to b.html
   <a href="XXX/b.html">Link label</a>
4. absolute URL:
   <a href="http://www.apache.org/foundation/FAQ.html">Apache Software Foundation FAQ</a>

Navigating directory tree