title: linux -- getting from /proc/partitions contents to something I can 'ls'
body: <p>I am writing (yet another) file manager (to learn stuff:) and have a silly/stupid block.  </p>
  
  <p>On Linux, to enumerate the storage devices which can contain files, I believe the best approach is to parse the contents of the /proc/partitions file and extract the /dev/sda* entries.  (right?)  However, how can I map the /dev/sda* to something that I can explore programmatically to get directory contents?  I am planning on using boost/filesystem, but since I cannot ls /dev/sda I assume I cannot use boost to iterate over it.  </p>
  
  <p>Synopsis:  how can I convert /dev/sda* to something that I can 'ls'</p>