Hierarchical File System
Proprietary file system by Apple / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hierarchical File System (HFS) is a proprietary file system developed by Apple Inc. for use in computer systems running Mac OS. Originally designed for use on floppy and hard disks, it can also be found on read-only media such as CD-ROMs. HFS is also referred to as Mac OS Standard (or HFS Standard), while its successor, HFS Plus, is also called Mac OS Extended (or HFS Extended).
| Developer(s) | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hierarchical File System |
| Introduced | September 17, 1985 with System 2.1 |
| Partition identifier | Apple_HFS (Apple Partition Map)0xAF (MBR) HFS and HFS+ |
| Structures | |
| Directory contents | B-tree |
| File allocation | Bitmap |
| Bad blocks | B-tree |
| Limits | |
| Max. volume size | 2 TB (2 × 10244 bytes) |
| Max. file size | 2 GB (2 × 10243 bytes) |
| Max. number of files | 65535 |
| Max. filename length | 31 characters |
| Allowed characters in filenames | All 8-bit values except colon ":". Discouraged null and nonprints. |
| Features | |
| Dates recorded | Creation, modification, backup |
| Date range | January 1, 1904 - February 6, 2040 |
| Date resolution | 1s |
| Forks | Only 2 (data and resource) |
| Attributes | Color (3 bits, all other flags 1 bit), locked, custom icon, bundle, invisible, alias, system, stationery, inited, no INIT resources, shared, desktop |
| File system permissions | AppleShare |
| Transparent compression | Yes (third-party); Stacker, AutoDoubler, TimesTwo, Now Compress, StuffIt SpaceSaver, Alysis Software products (SuperDisk!, More Disk Space, The Alysis Disk Expander and eDisk), AutoSqueeze |
| Transparent encryption | No |
| Other | |
| Supported operating systems | Classic Mac OS, macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows (through MacDrive or Boot CampIFS drivers)[citation needed] |
With the introduction of Mac OS X 10.6, Apple dropped support for formatting or writing HFS disks and images, which remain supported as read-only volumes.[1] Starting with macOS 10.15, HFS disks can no longer be read.