mknod(8)
NAME
mknod − build special file
SYNTAX
/etc/mknod name [ c ] [ b ] major minor
/etc/mknod name p
DESCRIPTION
The mknod command makes an inode and a corresponding directory entry for a special file.
The name specifies the special file name of the entry. In the first form, the b creates a is block-type (disks, tape) special file, while the c creates a character-type (other devices) special file. The last two arguments are numbers specifying the major device type and the minor device (unit, drive, or line number), which may be either decimal or octal. In the second form, the p creates a special file for FIFOs (named pipes).
The assignment of major device numbers is specific to each system. They can be found in the system source file c.c.