Devices

In Unix, devices can be accessed via a filepath!
Have a try and look at ls /dev!

Though we cannot directly access the contents by just reading the contents of the (or can you), this convention allows programs to be function more synonymously as a ‘file’.

Unix Devices

/dev/diskN - Hard disk partition
/dev/ttyN - Terminal device
/dev/ptyN - Pseudo-terminal device

/dev/mem - Physical memory (RO)
/dev/null - Data sink
/dev/random - Pesudo-random number stream

Special Devices

Character Devices

• Unbuffered direct access to hardware device
• Read and write by bytes

Block Devices

• Buffered access to hardware device
• Read and write by chunks of bytes at a time

Local IPC (Click to view)

Network IPC (Click to view)

Also, assignment 2 was released…