What happens when you type ls -l *.c

The output from ls -l summarizes all the most important information about the file on one line. If the specified pathname is a directory, ls displays information on every file in that directory (one file per line). It precedes this list with a status line that indicates the total number of file system blocks occupied by the files in that directory. Here is a sample of the output along with an explanation.

-rw-rw-rw- 1 root   dir 104 Nov 1 19:32 file

The first character identifies the file type:

-    Regular file
b    Block special file
c    Character special file
d    Directory
l    Symbolic link
n    Network file
p    FIFO
s    Socket

For a regular file the ‘-’ may be replaced by:

D    Demand recall file
E    Encrypted file
O    Offline file
S    Sparse file

The next nine characters are in three groups of three; they describe the permissions on the file. The first group of three describes owner permissions; the second describes group permissions; the third describes other (or world) permissions. Because Windows systems do not support group and other permissions, these are copies of the owner’s permissions. Characters that may appear are:

r    Permission to read file
w    Permission to write to file
x    Permission to execute file
a    Archive bit is on (file has not been backed up)
c    Compressed file
s    System file
h    Hidden file
t    Temporary file

On Windows systems, most of the permissions shown are artificial, with no real meaning. The w bit is set according to the ReadOnly attribute, and the rx bits are always set on.

After the permissions come the number of links to the file.