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8.1.3.1: Table of devices

I chose the following names(1) for the devices provided by zftape (example for drive selection method A, see Drive selection):

device name bits of minor device number `lsb-msb' compr. support file marks rewind on close can read v2.x raw access ioctls
/dev/qft0 0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0 no yes yes yes no
/dev/nqft0 0|0|1|0|0|0|0|0 no yes no yes no
/dev/zqft0 0|0|0|0|1|0|0|0 yes yes yes yes no
/dev/nzqft0 0|0|1|0|1|0|0|0 yes yes no yes no
/dev/rawft0 0|0|0|0|0|1|0|0 no no yes no yes
/dev/nrawft0 0|0|1|0|0|1|0|0 no no no no yes

The headers of the different columns have the following meaning:

`bits of minor device number'
The minor device number in bitwise representation. The lsb(2) comes first. See zftape devices overview.

`compr. support'
Whether you can use compression with this devices (but see MTCOMPRESSION). See Compression.

`file marks'
Whether this device supports file marks (see File marks, see MTFSF, see MTBSF, see MTFSFM, see MTBSFM, see MTWEOF).

`rewind on close'
Whether the tape is rewound when this device is closed. Note the `n' in front of all the device names that rewind when closing them (see Rewinding devices, see MTREW, see MTOFFL).

`can read v2.x'
Whether you can read tapes produces by the pre-3.04 sftape driver or by the old ftape-2.x driver (see zftape devices compatibility).

`raw access ioctls'
Whether this device supports raw access ioctls (see MTIOCRDFTSEG and MTIOCWRFTSEG).

Please refer to the respective subsections for more remarks about the different devices (see /dev/qft, see /dev/rft, see /dev/zqft, see /dev/rawft).

There is a script MAKEDEV.ftape that can produce these devices for you. See Installing ftape. You find it under `./contrib/scripts/'. The devices which I called `/dev/qft*' and `/dev/nqft*' were also used by the original ftape. In the latest versions of the original ftape-2.x driver they were called `/dev/rft*' and `/dev/nrft*', older versions of ftape called them `/dev/ftape' and `/dev/nftape'. See Installing ftape.


(1) The `q' stands for QIC, the `z' for `zip', a hint for the builtin compression zftape provides, and the `n' is a shortcut for Non-rewinding (see Rewinding and non-rewinding devices)

(2) least significant bit


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