dot file
<operating system, convention> A Unix application program configuration
file. On Unix, files named with a leading dot are not normally shown in
directory listings. Many programs define one or more dot files in which startup
or configuration information may be optionally recorded; a user can customise
the program's behaviour by creating the appropriate file in the current or home
directory.
Dot files tend to proliferate - with every nontrivial application program
defining at least one, a user's home directory can be filled with scores of dot
files, without the user really being aware of it. Common examples are .profile,
.cshrc, .login, .emacs, .mailrc, .forward, .newsrc, .plan, .rhosts, .sig,
.xsession.
See also profile, rc file.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-07)
Nearby terms:
DOS requester « dot « dot address « dot file
» dot matrix printer » dot notation » dot pitch
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