2 ms·

> Actually no, they are file descriptors That is a distinction without a difference.

• Someone 14y ago
  Without distinction? Only if you look at it simplistically, form the view of a single process. Otherwise: - Shutdown a machine, and all file descriptors are gone. It's files, one would expect, would still be there. - you can have multiple file descriptors for a single file. - you can have file descriptors that aren't 'attached' to a file proper (stdin, stout)