zero(7)                                                      zero(7)


       NAME
             zero - source of zeroes

       DESCRIPTION
             A zero special file is a source of zeroed unnamed memory.

             Reads from a zero special file always return a buffer full of
             zeroes.  The file is of infinite length.

             Writes to a zero special file are always successful, but the
             data written is ignored.

             Mapping a zero special file creates a zero-initialized unnamed
             memory object of a length equal to the length of the mapping
             and rounded up to the nearest page size as returned by
             sysconf.  Multiple processes can share such a zero special
             file object provided a common ancestor mapped the object
             MAP_SHARED.

          Files
             /dev/zero

       REFERENCES
             fork(2), mmap(2), sysconf(3C)
























                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1