MASTER(10.6)                                         MASTER(10.6)

     NAME
          master, master.local - list of device specifiers

     SYNOPSIS
          /emu/port/master
          /emu/port/master.local

          os/port/master
          os/port/master.local

     DESCRIPTION
          Each device has a name of the form #x where x is a single
          Unicode character, which represents the root of the name
          space served (generated) by the driver.  (There can be a
          further specifier that selects a particular hierarchy within
          the device, but that is not relevant here.)  These names
          allow the devices' name spaces to be added to a process's
          name space (see sys-intro(2)), using bind(1) commands, sys-
          bind(2) operations and namespace(6) files.  A given charac-
          ter can represent only one driver in a running system, but
          the same character might be used by several drivers in the
          source tree if they are never configured into the same sys-
          tem (eg, different platforms or mutually-exclusive configu-
          rations).  The file #c/drivers gives the local system's
          assignment (see cons(3)). A list of the set of characters
          used across all drivers on all platforms can be found in the
          several master files.  In the distribution, the master.local
          files list characters that are reserved for use by locally-
          written drivers.  They are updated by hand at a given
          installation.  The master files by contrast are generated
          automatically by emu/port/mkfile and os/port/mkfile from the
          source for all platforms and master.local.  In the distribu-
          tion, they might include names for drivers that exist but
          are not distributed.

          Except for a few fundamental drivers, the character assign-
          ment is arbitrary, can vary between installations, and is
          notionally subject to change (although that rarely happens).
          The indir(3) allows referring to drivers using a longer name
          that is even less likely to change.

     SEE ALSO
          bind(1), sys-intro(2), indir(3), namespace(6), dev(10.2)

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