Where can I find info on all those /dev files?

[csj@mindgate.net]

Thru trial-and-error I (partially) solved my problem with my unmountable
LS-120 drive. I had been trying to mount it as /dev/hdd, which is how the
bootup messages recognize it.

I poked around /dev and tried every /dev I knew (or thought or read somewhere)
to work with a disk or disk-like device, i.e., /dev/hd? /dev/scd? /dev/sr?
/dev/sg? /dev/sd? (the list goes on).

I finally succeeded in mounting it as dev/sda, but as a read-only system.

Question: Is there a more scientific way to go about finding the proper /dev
for my devices? Is there a HOWTO, or rather a WHATIS (as in, What is this little
red button supposed to do?) doc that can tell me which device each of the /dev
files in my system works with?

All I need is a simple list like:

/dev/hd? --> IDE hard disk
/dev/sg? --> cdwriter