© David Both 2020
D. BothUsing and Administering Linux: Volume 2https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5455-4_3

3. Everything Is a File

David Both1 
(1)
Raleigh, NC, USA
 

Objectives

In this chapter you will learn

  • The definition of a file

  • To understand what “everything is a file” really means and why it is important

  • The implications of “everything is a file”

  • How to use common Linux file management tools to access hardware as files

This is one of the most important concepts that make Linux especially flexible and powerful: everything is a file. That is, everything can be the source of a data stream, the target of a data stream, or in many cases both. In this chapter you will explore what “everything is a file” really means and learn to use that to advantage as ...

Get Using and Administering Linux: Volume 2: Zero to SysAdmin: Advanced Topics now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial