File Systems Explained
Understanding the different types of file systems is perhaps the most important part of and the most practical knowledge within this subject matter. Different file systems are often associated with different applications and becaase of the constant networking and communication between disparate systems, the types of file systems used can be very important. Here are some specific disk file systems:
The File Allocation Table, or FAT, file system is often associated with MS-DOS, but was used in Windows until Millennium Edition. It is still used by most forms of flash memory, for example on USB flash drives, and it is supported by almost every operating system. FAT is a limited but versatile file system which has very good cross platform support, but even with updates like VFAT and FAT32, it has largely been replaced.
New Technology File System, or NTFS, is the file system used by current versions of Windows. There are a number of versions of NTFS, but what is important to know is that it replaced FAT as Window's primary file system because it has better metadata support, increased reliability, file system journalling, and can support large file and volume sizes. The most important problem with NTFS is that many non-Microsoft operating systems cannot work with it, but this is improving in certain areas.
Apple's OS X uses a file system known as HFS Plus, or Hierarchical File System Plus, though it is sometimes referred to as Mac OS Extended. HFS Plus allows filenames up to 255 characters long as well as 32-bit allocation mapping table (HFS used 16 bit). HFS Plus relies heavily on metadata and also allows aliasing, so files can be moved and still be tracked. This is the file system which Apple's Ipod uses.