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}.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {profile}{rc file}]