NAME
null, zero – data sinkDESCRIPTION
Data written to a null or zero special file is discarded.Reads from the null special file always return end of file (i.e., read(2) returns 0), whereas reads from zero always return bytes containing zero (\0 characters).
null and zero are typically created by:
-
mknod -m 666 /dev/null c 1 3
mknod -m 666 /dev/zero c 1 5
chown root:root /dev/null /dev/zero
FILES
/dev/null/dev/zero
NOTES
If these devices are not writable and readable for all users, many programs will act strangely.
Willie
Willie has over 15 years of experience in Linux system administration and DevOps. After managing infrastructure for startups and enterprises alike, he founded Command Linux to share the practical knowledge he wished he had when starting out. He oversees content strategy and contributes guides on server management, automation, and security.