Dot files (or dot directories) are files with dot (`.') as the first character of their names. They are hidden under Unix and will not be listed with ls command. Instead, you will have to use the `-a' (all) option of ls to list them.
Dot files (or directories) are widely used by Unix applications. They can be shell script to be run by shell programs at start-up, configuration files to set run-time parameters, backup files to save session information. Some dot files are essential to the use of some programs like shell programs and emacs.
It is not easy to write a usable dot file so helpdesk collects some sample dot files so that you can copy them, try to understand them and then modify them for your use. For example, /home/helpdesk/dotfiles/emacs-ess.el is a ready to use .emacs file with ess support. All you need to do is adding the contend of this file to your own .emacs file by
cat /home/helpdesk/dotfiles/emacs-ess.el » .emacsBefore you use any dotfile, read /home/helpdesk/dotfiles/readme to know the usuage of it. I have tried to put as many comments in each dot file as I can and marked clearly the has-to-be-changed parts. Please email helpdesk mailto:helpdesk@stat.rice.edu if you have any question or suggestion about them or would like to donate your own dot files.