zero(7D)

NAME

     zero - source of zeroes

DESCRIPTION

     A zero special file is a source of zeroed unnamed memory.

     Reads from a zero special file always return a  buffer  full
     of zeroes. The file is of infinite length.

     Writes to a zero special file are always successful, but the
     data written is ignored.

     Mapping a  zero  special  file  creates  a  zero-initialized
     unnamed memory object of a length equal to the length of the
     mapping and rounded up to the nearest page size as  returned
     by sysconf. Multiple processes can share such a zero special
     file object provided a common  ancestor  mapped  the  object
     MAP_SHARED.

FILES

     /dev/zero

SEE ALSO

     fork(2), mmap(2), sysconf(3C)