pathname-device

(pathname-device pathname)

The device component of a pathname -- always nil here, for the reason pathname-host is: a flat namestring carries no device. That is also what SBCL answers on Unix.

Portable code tests the answer against both nil and :unspecific before using it, so a nil device simply means "there is no device component to account for".

Backend support

All four backends -- one definition in rontolisp source over primitives every backend has.