Could Linux technically use a hybrid file layout where the operating system keeps its usual Unix-style structure, but file browsers show separate drive trees assigned letters such as C: or D:? I'm also wondering whether programs could be installed into their own folders with most of their binaries, libraries, and other files kept together, similar to how many Windows applications work. I like Linux's flexibility, but I'm interested in a more hardware-oriented and self-contained organization without replacing the underlying system entirely.
4 Answers
The practical recommendation is to keep Linux’s standard filesystem layout and use the tools it already provides. Symlinks can make folders appear wherever you want, separate partitions can be mounted at meaningful paths, and containers or sandboxed packages can isolate applications. You could redesign the system around drive letters and per-application directories, but you would end up maintaining a custom packaging and configuration ecosystem that is incompatible with much of the existing software.
AppImage, Flatpak, and similar formats are probably the closest match to what you want. They keep an application and many of its dependencies together, while Flatpak also provides sandboxing and shared runtimes. An AppImage is still a single executable file, though, so you can inspect it by mounting or extracting it if you want to look at its contents.
Installing software into custom locations is technically possible. You can compile programs with a chosen install prefix, place self-contained applications under /opt, or use portable formats such as AppImage. The problem is that normal Linux packages expect standard locations for libraries, command-line tools, icons, desktop entries, manuals, and other shared resources. If every application uses arbitrary folders, you have to manually update search paths and integration files, and many distribution packages will stop working properly.
You can approximate drive letters by mounting partitions at paths such as /c or /d, or by creating symlinks that point to the actual mount locations. Linux can also mount separate drives or partitions under directories like /home, /opt, or /mnt. However, drive letters are mostly a naming convention; Linux treats everything as one directory tree, which is why most software expects that layout.
That helps. I was mainly looking for something I could browse and modify like a normal application folder, rather than a completely opaque package.