Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Thu, 25 Jul 2002 05:43:00 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Hiten Pandya <hitmaster2k@yahoo.com>
To:        Marco Berizzi <pupilla@hotmail.com>, freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: block device vs char device
Message-ID:  <20020725124300.36440.qmail@web21104.mail.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <LAW2-F15DINlFpzdArd0001c321@hotmail.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Hello Marco.

--- Marco Berizzi <pupilla@hotmail.com> wrote:
> [...]
> This is the output (partial) from ls -l /dev of my
> FreeBSD 4.6 i386 box.
> 
> [ ... ls output snipped ]
> 
> Why /dev/MAKEDEV create these nodes as char device? Should't
> these device be created as block device (disk & cdrom)?

OK.  First of all, block device support used to exist in FreeBSD,
till FreeBSD 4.2(or 3), and after that, the whole block device
subsystem was replaced with a character device subsystem; this
had its advantages.   Apart from performance, I am not sure
what other advantages it offered; but since 4.3, all device nodes
use the Character Device Driver Interface, i.e. is why it results
in character nodes.

For the user, this should not make any difference, as it still
offers the same functionality as it did when they were as block
devices, unless you go far into the internals.

> Other question. Which the difference between /dev/cd0a &
> /dev/cd0c?

The FreeBSD Handbook / FAQ should contain an answer for this question.

> Last: majors are listed in /usr/src/sys/conf/majors
> and minors?

I am not sure about this question. sorry.

  -- Hiten

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com

To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20020725124300.36440.qmail>