what is ls -F (ls --classify) [closed]

Question

Looking at the man pages for plain old ls I see there's a flag for -F

  -F, --classify
          append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries

I've used it a few times, but all I see it adds a slash / to folders which is the same as ls -p

What does this mean for the others *=>@|?

I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 with GNU bash, version 4.3.11(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)

Answer 1

Each of the symbols is for a specific type of file. If you haven't seen them, it's probably because you don't have any files of that type. The man page for ls should say what each of them means. But, in case you can't read yours for some reason, here's what mine says:

     -F      Display a slash (`/') immediately after each pathname that is a
         directory, an asterisk (`*') after each that is executable, an at
         sign (`@') after each symbolic link, a percent sign (`%') after
         each whiteout, an equal sign (`=') after each socket, and a
         vertical bar (`|') after each that is a FIFO.

Mine seems to use some characters yours doesn't and not use some that yours does. So, to resolve the others you need to read the man page that refers to your version.