everything is a file

Author: ntk148v

linux/everything-is-a-file.md

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+# Everything is a file
+
+"Everything is a file" is an approach to interface design in Unix derivatives. While this turn of phrase does not as such figure as a Unix design principle or philosophy, it is a common way to analyse designs, and informs the design of new interfaces in a way that prefers, in rough order of import:
+
+1. representing objects as file descriptors instead of alternatives like abstract handles or names,
+2. operating on the objects with standard input/output operations, returning byte streams to be interpreted by applications (rather than explicitly structured data), and
+3. allowing the usage or creation of objects by opening or creating files in the global filesystem name space.
+
+The lines between the common interpretations of "file" and "file descriptor" are often blurred when analysing Unix, and nameability of files is the least important part of this principle; thus, it is sometimes described as "Everything is a file descriptor".