Encyclopedia > DEVFS

  Article Content

DEVFS

DEVFS is a special-purpose file system present on many UNIX-like operating systems, including FreeBSD and Linux (though not all Linux systems enable it).

On all Unix systems, many I/O devices (such as disks, printers, virtual terminals[?] and so forth) are treated by the operating system as special files. However, maintaining these special files on a conventional file system can become quite complex: this is particularly the case where arbitrary devices can be hot-swapped (installed or removed whilst the system is operational) such as USB devices. DEVFS simplifies this problem by automatically overseeing the creation, deletion, and permission management of these files.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Reformed churches

... regions in which Protestants could live unmolested. These areas became centers of political resistance under which the Reformed church was protected until until ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 110 ms