Desktop problem

[Thomas Cameron]

On 08/14/2010 09:46 PM, JD wrote:
>    On 08/14/2010 07:34 PM, James McKenzie wrote:
>> Thomas Cameron wrote:
>>> On 08/14/2010 08:55 PM, JD wrote:
>>>
>>>> If you want to pick up onlythe dot files, then use
>>>> .[a-zA-Z]*
>>>>
>>>> $ echo .[a-zA-Z]*
>>>> .AbiSuite .adobe .alias .amaya .amazonmp3 .asoundrc .aspell.en.prepl
>>>> I have a bazillion dot files in my home dir. I only copied and pasted a few.
>>>>
>>> Totally unnecessary, but if it makes you feel better, go for it.
>>>
>> Why do folks insist on using . files rather than making them visible?
>> Makes troubleshooting hell.
>>
>> James McKenzie
>>
> I do not know the history of why they chose dot files AND make them
> invisible to the shell.
> But one thought comes to mind is perhaps to make ls (without -a) present
> a less cluttered view?
> Maybe someone with info on the first bell labs unix version 6 has more
> detailed knowledge of this.
>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_files is a good start.  Basically, it's 
a method whereby apps can write individual configs on a per-user basis 
without "cluttering" the view of the user's home directory.