mknod Command mknod Make a special file or named pipe /etc/mknod filename type major minor /etc/mknod filename p In the first form, mknod creates a special file, which provides access to a device by the filename specified. Special files are conventionally stored in the /dev directory. type can be either `b' (for block-special file) or `c' (for character-special file). Block-special files tend to be devices such as disks or magnetic tape, upon which COHERENT uses an elaborate buffering strategy. Character-special files are un- structured (character at a time) devices such as terminals, line printers, or communications devices. Character-special files may also be random-access devices; this circumvents system buffering, allowing transfers of arbitrary size directly between the user and the hardware. The major device number uniquely identifies a device driver to COHERENT. The minor device number is a parameter interpreted by the driver; it might specify the channel of a multiplexor or the unit number of a drive. The caller must be the superuser. In the second form, mknod creates a pipe with the given filename. Named pipes can be used for communication between processes. ***** Files ***** /dev/* ***** See Also ***** commands, mount COHERENT Lexicon Page 1