HFS+ file system

By default. Mac OS X uses the HFS+ file system. You can force the install to use UFS, but you'll miss out on many features. The only thing I don't like about HFS+ is its arbitrary attitude toward case in file names. HFS+ is case preserving, but case insensitive. It's not fully integrated with the shell and that can cause confusion. If I

 mkdir appl
 cd Appl
 
 

I'll be in "appl". But that's not true for wild cards : I can't

 mkdir appl
 cd Ap*
 
 

Also, after making "appl", I cannot "mkdir Appl". This can cause problems with files brought from other Unix systems - although it is a little unusual, it is not unheard of to have two very different files whose names only differ in capitalization. Keep that in mind.

This has changed, see Case sensitivity in filesystems

You are also allowed to do such awful things as

 VI MYFILE
 
 

Though Vi itself isn't going to put up with this "case doesn't matter" nonsense.

But there's a lot to like about HFS+ beyond these gripes. Automatic defragmentation for small files, for example: if a file is under a certain size and is not otherwise being accessed and a few other conditions are met, it will automatically be relocated and defragmented on the fly (if necessary, of course) when it is opened. There's also "Hot file clustering" which tries to keep frequently accessed files under a certain size up at the beginning of the disk - keeping these things close together and at the most efficient access point (reads are longer at the outer sectors of a disk).

There's also the metadata, which lets tools like Spotlight and mdfind have extra power. While I have at times been annoyed enough at the case insensitivity confusion to consider reinstalling with UFS, I don't think I'll ever actually do so. You get used to the problems, and learn to avoid them.

My Unix/Linux Troubleshooting Book

My Hard Truths about Easy Money Book

My Self Employment Book

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.