coreutils: Special file types
12 Special file types
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This chapter describes commands which create special types of files (and
‘rmdir’, which removes directories, one special file type).
Although Unix-like operating systems have markedly fewer special file
types than others, not _everything_ can be treated only as the
undifferentiated byte stream of “normal files”. For example, when a
file is created or removed, the system must record this information,
which it does in a “directory”—a special type of file. Although you can
read directories as normal files, if you’re curious, in order for the
system to do its job it must impose a structure, a certain order, on the
bytes of the file. Thus it is a “special” type of file.
Besides directories, other special file types include named pipes
(FIFOs), symbolic links, sockets, and so-called “special files”.
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