6 Special Linux Device Files And Their Uses
<p>The Linux filesystem is a unique and complex beast. This decades old system contains many hidden gems that you could spend a lifetime discovering. There are also a lot of unique idiosyncrasies to how things function. Luckily for us, these examples won’t take years to learn.</p>
<p>Linux has the concept of device files, this means that every “device” on the system is also a file. You can do useful things when interacting with a device via a file. Some of them aren’t even real devices at all, just representations, emulations or in some cases handy functions.</p>
<p>In this article we’re going to learn about a few of the special devices that exist on a Linux system. These have unique properties that can assist with tasks like number generation or even destroying data.</p>
<h2>1. /dev/null</h2>
<p>This is one of the most widely known special devices on a Linux system. There is a solid chance you’ve already piped some data to <code>/dev/null</code> in order to watch it disappear.</p>
<p>This is precisely what <code>/dev/null</code> does. It takes anything you send to it and discards it immediately. This is essentially a device that you can safely write massive amounts of data to and have it go away. Think of it like a black hole.</p>
<p>If you’re testing a program that will produce a lot of output, and you don’t want it, <code>/dev/null</code> is the perfect place to redirect it.</p>
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