dot file
n.
A file that is not visible by default to normal directory-browsing
tools (on Unix, files named with a leading dot are, by convention, not
normally presented in directory listings). Many programs define one or
more dot files in which startup or configuration information may be
optionally recorded; a user can customize the program's behavior by
creating the appropriate file in the current or home directory.
(Therefore, dot files tend to {creep} -- with every nontrivial
application program defining at least one, a user's home directory can
be filled with scores of dot files, of course without the user's
really being aware of it.) See also {profile} (sense 1), {rc file}.
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)