Describe character devices and block devices, and explain the difference between them. Provide examples of each type of device.

What will be an ideal response?

Each device file specifies how data should be transferred to and from the device. You have two methods for transferring data to and from a device. The first method involves transferring information character-by-character to and from the device. Devices that transfer data in this fashion are referred to as character devices. The second method transfers chunks or blocks of information at a time by using physical memory to buffer the transfer. Devices that use this method of transfer are called block devices, and can transfer information much faster than character devices. Device files that represent disks, such as floppy disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, USB flash drives, and hard disks, are typically block device files because a fast data transfer rate is preferred. Tape drives and most other devices, however, are typically represented by character device files.