NAME
mem, kmem —
main memory
DESCRIPTION
The file/dev/mem is an interface to the physical memory
of the computer. Byte offsets in this file are interpreted as physical memory
addresses. Reading and writing this file is equivalent to reading and writing
memory itself. An error will be returned if an attempt is made to reference an
offset outside of /dev/mem.
Kernel virtual memory is accessed via the file
/dev/kmem in the same manner as
/dev/mem. Only kernel virtual addresses that are
currently mapped to memory are allowed.
On the Motorola MVME series of single board computers, physical memory may be discontiguous; kernel virtual memory begins at 0x00008000.
FILES
- /dev/mem
- /dev/kmem
HISTORY
The files mem and
kmem appeared in Version 6
AT&T UNIX.