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Any file or directory on the computer can be identified uniquely by its pathname. A pathname is like a map with directions for finding a file or directory; it lists, in order, each directory you must pass through to get from the root directory to the file or directory in question. When the pathname is written down, the directories are separated by slashes (/). Remember that the slash character is also the name of the root directory; the first slash in a pathname stands for the root directory, while the others are used to separate directories.
For example, the full path of the file called review in the diagram above is /u/perry/review. The pathname tells you that review is in the directory called perry, perry is a subdirectory of u, and u is in the root directory.
A pathname that begins at the root directory is called an absolute pathname or full pathname. Pathnames that begin at some level below the root directory, called relative pathnames, are also useful. When you work in one directory, you can specify a file or directory below it by its relative pathname. For example, if you are working in the directory called u and you need to specify the file in perry called mymbox, you can use the relative pathname perry/mymbox.