'''File Allocation Table''' ('''FAT''') is a [[file system]] developed for personal computers and was the default filesystem for [[MS-DOS]] and [[Windows 9x|Windows 9x operating systems]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite webjournal |url=https://www.computerscijournal.org/vol3no1/review-of-fat-data-structure-of-fat32-file-system/ |last=Bhat |first=W. A. |date=2010 |title=Review of FAT data structure of FAT32 file system |journal=Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=161–164 |s2cid=58178285 |language=en}}</ref> Originally developed in 1977 for use on [[floppy disk]]s, it was adapted for use on [[Hard disk drive|hard disks]] and other devices. The increase in disk drives capacity required three major variants: [[#FAT12|FAT12]], [[#FAT16|FAT16]] and [[#FAT32|FAT32]]. FAT was replaced with [[NTFS]] as the default file system on Microsoft operating systems starting with [[Windows XP]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/comparing-ntfs-and-fat-file-systems |title=Comparing NTFS and FAT file systems |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=2014-01-27 |archive-date=2016-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620004455/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Comparing-NTFS-and-FAT-file-systems |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, FAT continues to be used on [[flash memory|flash]] and other [[Solid-state storage|solid-state]] [[memory card]]s and modules (including [[USB flash drive]]s), many portable and embedded devices because of its compatibility and ease of implementation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A brief introduction to FAT (File Allocation Table) formats |url=http://www.wizcode.com/articles/comments/a-brief-introduction-to-fat-file-allocation-table/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925082826/http://www.wizcode.com/articles/comments/a-brief-introduction-to-fat-file-allocation-table/ |archive-date=September 25, 2015 |access-date=2015-09-24 |website=www.wizcode.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
