Special file system

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A special file system presents non-file elements of an operating system as files.

[edit] Device File Systems

Main article: device file system

Many special file systems are used to transact data and control devices as if they were files. The mechanism has appeared as far back as DOS and may be referred to as device nodes.

This includes:

• devfs, used in Unix-like systems.
• udev, a newer type used in Linux 2.6.

[edit] Others

• Some are close to being device file systems, such as sysfs.
• proc maps processes into filespace.