renameuser, Administrators
5,605
edits
Changes
m
no edit summary
In [[w:Unix-like|Unix-like]] [[w:operating_system|operating systems]], <tt>'''/dev/null'''</tt> or '''the null device''' is a [[w:special_file|special file]] that discards all data written to it, and provides no data to any [[w:Process_(computing)|process]] that reads from it (it returns [[w:End-of-file|EOF]]).
In [[w:Unix|Unix]] [[w:programmer|programmer]] jargon, it may also be called the '''[[w:bit_bucket|bit bucket]]''' or '''black hole'''. The null device is typically used for disposing of unwanted [[w:input/output|output]] [[w:Standard_streams|stream]]s of a process, or as a convenient empty [[w:Computer file|file]] for [[w:input/output|input]] streams. This is usually done by [[w:redirection_(Unix)|redirection]].
==So why use it in a [[User:Pistevo/sig|signature]]?==
* A famous advertisement for the Titanium [[w:PowerBook_G4|PowerBook G4]] read ''[The Titanium Powerbook G4] Sends other UNIX boxes to /dev/null''.
*A warning to users that the system's <tt>/dev/null</tt> is already 98% full.
*The [[w:April_Fool's|April Fool's]], [[w:1995|1995]] issue of the [[w:Germany|German]] magazine ''[[w:c't|c't]]'' reported on an enhanced <tt>/dev/null</tt> [[w:microprocessor|chip]] that would efficiently dispose of the incoming data by converting it to flicker on an internal glowing [[w:Light-emitting_diode|LED]].
==Links==
*'''Source''': [[w:/dev/null|Wikipedia article: /dev/null]]
*[[User:Pistevo]]
