What Is a File Descriptor?
Each file has an internal file descriptor assigned to it. By default, 0 is the file descriptor for standard input, 1 is the file descriptor for standard output, and 2 is the file descriptor for standard error. As other files are opened, they get other file descriptors. In the Bourne shell and in the Korn shell, you can specify that data be written to or be read from a file using the file descriptor as described in File Descriptors in the Bourne and Korn Shells.