[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: /dev/loopX vs /dev/loop/X in Debian



On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 05:05:45PM +1000, Zenaan Harkness wrote:
> Hi guys, using wheezy and sid here.
> 
> Been googling a lot, wanting to know recommendations/suggestions re
> /dev/loop0 and
> /dev/loop/0
> (or etc variants)
> 
> Have not been able to find a clear exposition of suggestion of if/why
> one or the other /dev/ layout is indicated.

My guess would be that /dev/loop0 is the old naming and /dev/loop/0 is
the new naming.

Back in the old days, /dev was a static directory, and would come
populated with nodes for the devices that most people would need. So
you'd get half a dozen ttyS* nodes, even if you only had one serial port
on your system. If you had a dozen, you were expected to mknod the
device nodes yourself.

Then, in time, came the idea of a dynamic /dev directory. The idea being
that, if the kernel detected a dozen serial ports, you'd get that many
device nodes. This led to the creation of devfs and then udev.

So, with the advent of udev, we get two relevant facts, the ability to
create as many device nodes as needed and (with it being a user-space
utility), plenty of scope for naming those devices. So it would appear
that, rather than giving you a handful of /dev/loop* devices, these have
been moved into a subdirectory and will get generated on the fly.

As is often the case, though, some software still expects the
"old-style" naming, so you'll probably find there's still a /dev/loop0
which is a symlink to /dev/loop/0.

This isn't a definitive answer, just my interpretation.

> 
> Clarifications appreciated.
> 
> TIA
> Zenaan
> 
> 
> -- 
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org 
> with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
> Archive: [🔎] CAOsGNSThRQ9zawZ8ex3ew3GKzzscGGZgrsSiNuZ5Vq=0dU4+fg@mail.gmail.com">http://lists.debian.org/[🔎] CAOsGNSThRQ9zawZ8ex3ew3GKzzscGGZgrsSiNuZ5Vq=0dU4+fg@mail.gmail.com
> 

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature


Reply to: