"list files" command reply format for unix

[HJB417]

I need help parsing the results when someone enters ls. I want to get the filesize but I have a few questions about the rules of unix

e.x.:
-rw-r--r-- 1 h_blackw st03 7009 Apr 2 17:09 TcpPacketizer.cpp

I know the 1st part is directory and file permissions, and the 2 and 3 paramater is the user and group followed by filesize. d/t and filename. Now, what does the 1 mean after the file permissions? Can a user and group contain spaces, like instead of "h_blackw", could it be "h blackw"? Can the group name contain spaces? Thx

 

[heliomphalodon]

The "1" after the file permissions indicates that the file's inode has a single link to it.
While it might be possible to have whitespace in either a username or a group name, I promise you that if you do this, you'll wish you hadn't.