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I think this was answered previously. In Unix and Linux, the files normally found in /dev (but not required to be in that directory) are called device special files created by the /sbin/mknod command. All they do is to convey the type of device (b == block, c == character, p == pipe) and major number to the operating system (Unix (all flavors), Linux, BSD). The minor number is determined by the device driver. Some systems also include and instance number which refers to the physical interface board. The device driver uses the numbers passed to it to determine which unit to select, and also possibly what to do with the unit. For instance, tape devices normally have a couple of special files, One would tell the device to rewind on close and the other not to rewind on close. Floppies use it to determine the type of device, and/or the type of media. You can certainly use a 720K 3.5 in floppy in a 1.44 drive. /dev/fd0 would be fine for a formatted floppy, but you might need to use /dev/fd0D720 if you wanted to format the floppy. On 22 Feb 00, at 7:47, Pedro Soria-Rodriguez wrote: > Nope... the entries in /dev are "files" created at some > point. -- Jerry Feldman Contractor, eInfrastructure Partner Engineering 508-467-4315 http://www.testdrive.compaq.com/linux/ Compaq Computer Corp. 200 Forest Street MRO1-3/F1 Marlboro, Ma. 01752 - Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" on the first line of the message body to discuss-request at blu.org (Subject line is ignored).
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