what is dot(.) or doubledot(..) files in linux or unix [duplicate]

what is dot(.) or doubledot(..) files in linux or unix [duplicate]

This question already has an answer here:
What are "." and ".." in a directory? 4 answers
as all unix/linux users know you could change the directory with cd .. but
when i use vi . or vi .. i could see the content of these files which is
something like this:
"
============================================================================
" Netrw Directory Listing (netrw v140) " /Users/max " Sorted by name "
Sort sequence: [/]$,\,.h$,.c$,.cpp$,*,.o$,.obj$,. " Quick Help: :help -:go
up dir D:delete R:rename s:sort-by x:exe
the question is what is exactly these files and whether they are used when
we used cd command? and when they are updated?