Be File System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:02, 13 March 2021

Latest revision as of 17:35, 9 August 2025

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| date_resolution = 1s

| forks_streams = Yes

| attributes = POSIX ACLs: Read, Write, Execute

| file_system_permissions = YesUnix permissions, [[Access-control_list#POSIX_ACL|POSIX (RWX per owner, group and all)ACLs]]

| compression = No

| encryption = No

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Like its predecessor, OFS (Old Be File System, written by [[Benoit Schillings]] - formerly BFS),<ref name="bortmaninterview">{{cite web | url=http://www.birdhouse.org/beos/bible/bos/int_schillings.html | title=Benoît Schillings, Software Engineer | author=Henry Bortman | work=The BeOS Bible | access-date=2006-09-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060927061917/http://www.birdhouse.org/beos/bible/bos/int_schillings.html| archive-date= 27 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> it includes support for extended file attributes ([[Metadata (computing)|metadata]]), with indexing and querying characteristics to provide functionality similar to that of a [[relational database]].

Whilst intended as a 64-bit-capable file system, the size of some on-disk structures mean that the practical size limit is approximately 2 [[exabytes]]. Similarly the extent-based file allocation reduces the maximum practical file size to approximately 260 gigabytes at best and as little as a few blocks in a pathological worst case, depending on the degree of [[file system fragmentation|fragmentation]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Its design process, [[application programming interface]], and internal workings are, for the most part, documented in the book ''Practical File System Design with the Be File System''.<ref name="practical-book" />

==Implementations==

In addition to the original 1996 BFS used in BeOS, there are several implementations for [[Linux]]. In early 1999, Makoto Kato developed a Be File System driver for Linux; however, the driver never reached a completely stable state, so in 2001 Will Dyson developed his own version of the Linux BFS driver.<ref>{{cite web | url=httphttps://befs-driver.sourceforge.net/about.php | title=BeFS driver for Linux: About BeFS | author=Will Dyson | year=2002 | publisher=SourceForge | access-date=2006-12-09 }}</ref>

In 2002, Axel Dörfler and a few other developers created and released a reimplemented BFS called OpenBFS for [[Haiku (operating system)|Haiku]] (OpenBeOS back then).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://haikunews.org/482 |title=OBFS Reaches Beta |author=Daniel Teixeira |date=2002-09-04 |work=Haiku News |access-date=2006-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004111533/http://haikunews.org/482 |archive-date=2006-10-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 2004, Robert Szeleney announced that he had developed a fork of this OpenBFS file system for use in his [[SkyOS]] operating system.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.skyos.org/?q=node/210 | title=Update | author=Robert Szeleney | date=2004-01-23 | work=skyos.org | access-date=2006-12-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234126/http://www.skyos.org/?q=node%2F210 | archive-date=2007-09-26 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The regular OpenBFS implementation was also ported to [[Syllable Desktop|Syllable]], with which it has been included since version 0.6.5.

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* [https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/06/the-beos-filesystem.ars The BeOS file system: an OS geek retrospective], by Andrew Hudson, 2010-06-03, Ars Technica

{{BeOS}}

{{Filesystem}}

{{Haiku Software}}

[[Category:Disk file systems]]