Explain " :> " command

Question

I have found this command few years ago and used it since then to empty file.

But how this really works?

:>

used like

:> /server/logs/access_log

Answer 1

> is the redirection operator. : is a builtin shell command, and is equivalent to to the true command, it is used mostly as a placeholder in scripts.

:> filename will make your file empty.