What do "." and ".." mean in a file path in Android (Java) [closed]

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For example in this path:

../..pictures/Sergey_Brin/Sergey

And this path:

./videos/./Larry_Page

I know that the dots are some kind of symbolic links. But what do they mean exactly and what's the difference between the two.

Answer 1

.. represents the parent directory.

. represents the current directory.

For example, ls .. will list the contents of the current parent directory and ls . will list all files in the current directory .

Take a look.

Answer 2

Relative paths make use of two special symbols, a dot (.) and a double-dot (..), which translate into the current directory and the parent directory. Double dots are used for moving up in the hierarchy. A single dot represents the current directory itself.

source: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.htm

Answer 3

The path ../.. simply means that you are referring to the directory two levels up from the current one. ".." is the directory right above the current directory and ../.. is the one two levels above. "." means current directory