/dev/zero
Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Mono is a special file in Unix-like operating systems that provides as many null characters (ASCII NUL, 0x00) as are read from it.[1] One of the typical uses is to provide a character stream for initializing data storage.[2]
Function
Read operations from Template:Mono return as many null characters (0x00) as requested in the read operation.
All write operations to Template:Mono succeed with no other effects. However, Template:Mono is more commonly used for this purpose.
When Template:Mono is memory-mapped, e.g., with mmap, to the virtual address space, it is equivalent to using anonymous memory; i.e. memory not connected to any file.
History
Template:Mono was introduced in 1988 in SunOS-4.0 to allow a mappable BSS segment for shared libraries using anonymous memory.[3] HP-UX 8.x introduced the MAP_ANONYMOUS flag for mmap(), which maps anonymous memory directly without a need to open Template:Mono.[4] Since the late 1990s, MAP_ANONYMOUS[5] or MAP_ANON are supported by most UNIX versions, removing the original purpose of Template:Mono.[6]
Examples
Erasing a file system partition or drive:
cp /dev/zero /dev/<destination drive or partition>
However, this may not perform a secure erasure, may not destroy the data at all, and may take significantly more time than required–for this purpose.
Creating a Script error: No such module "val". file, called foobar, filled with null characters:
See also
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".