Hierarchical File System
| 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 |
| Transparent encryption | No |
| Other | |
| Supported operating systems | Classic Mac OS, macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows (through MacDrive or Boot CampIFS drivers) |
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, erroneously, "HFS Standard"), while its successor, HFS Plus, is also called Mac OS Extended (or, erroneously, "HFS Extended").
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.
HFS was introduced by Apple in September 1985, specifically to support Apple's first hard disk drive for the Macintosh, replacing the Macintosh File System (MFS), the original file system which had been introduced over a year and a half earlier with the first Macintosh computer. HFS drew heavily upon Apple's first hierarchical SOS operating system for the failed Apple III, which also served as the basis for hierarchical filing systems on the Apple IIe and Apple Lisa. HFS was developed by Patrick Dirks and Bill Bruffey. It shared a number of design features with MFS that were not available in other file systems of the time (such as DOS's FAT). Files could have multiple forks (normally a data and a resource fork), which allowed the main data of the file to be stored separately from resources such as icons that might need to be localized. Files were referenced with unique file IDs rather than file names, and file names could be 255 characters long (although the Finder only supported a maximum of 31 characters).
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