NAME

klog − kernel console message logging device

DESCRIPTION

klog is a special file to which the kernel sends all internally generated messages destined for the system console.  It is intended for use solely by the syslog daemon so all kernel-generated console traffic can be logged to a disk file. 

This special file allows read(2), but not write(2) system calls. The first read after an open is special.  The kernel remembers all messages logged to the console from the time of the last system boot until klog is opened.  At the time of the open, all of these messages are put onto the klog upstream queue.  The first reads to klog are satisfied from this queue, until all queued messages have been read.  From that time forward all reads will block until the kernel generates a new console message. 

This special device file is a streams driver, so all stream operations are allowed.  For instance, poll(2) will work with this special device file. 

FILES

/dev/klog

SEE ALSO

poll(2), syslog(3), streamio(7), syslogd(8)
 

September 02, 1992