Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!mdisea!jackb
From: jackb@MDI.COM (Jack Brindle)
Subject: Re: System 7.0 Upgrades
Message-ID: <1991May15.172622.2214@MDI.COM>
Sender: news@MDI.COM
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
References: <52814@apple.Apple.COM> <FRANCIS.91May14232330@arthur.uchicago.edu>
Date: Wed, 15 May 1991 17:26:22 GMT
Lines: 22

In article <FRANCIS.91May14232330@arthur.uchicago.edu> francis@arthur.uchicago.edu (Francis Stracke) writes:
>In article <52814@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) writes:
>
>>The System 7 Finder offers users a new capability known as aliases.  Aliases
>>allow all Macintosh users to organize their system the way they prefer and puts
>>information just a double-click away.  An alias, usually about 2K in size, of
>
>*WHY* does it take so much space?

That's simple. The file actually uses only about 34 bytes. BUT, everytime
you create a file on a disk, and put something in it, the system uses an
allocation block. On 40 meg hard disks, this is a 1k block of disk. I
believe it is also 1k on floppies. For larger disks, the allocation blocks
are larger. The system also strings allocation blocks together in an
attempt to relieve fragmentation, so it is quite possible to get an extent
of 2k instead of 1k. So, even though the alias file is small, you still use
at least 1k when you create it. Are you REALLY worried about a measly 1k
out of 40 Megabytes or so?

Jack Brindle
ham radio: wa4fib/7

