('''MFS''') is a
Volume format (or disk
File System ) created by
Apple Computer for storing files on 400K
Floppy Disk s. MFS was introduced with the
Macintosh 128K in January
1984 .
MFS was notable both for introducing
Resource Fork s to allow storage of structured data, and for storing
Metadata needed to support the
Graphical User Interface of
Mac OS . MFS allows file names to be up to 255
Character s in length, although
Finder does not allow users to create names longer than 63 characters. MFS is called a
Flat File System because it does not support a hierarchy of
Folder s.
Folders existed as a concept on the original MFS-based Macintosh, but worked completely differently from the way they do on modern systems. They were visible in
Finder windows, but not in the open and save
Dialog Box es. There was always one empty folder on the volume, and if it was altered in any way (such as by adding or renaming files), it would be replaced with a new Empty Folder.
The Macintosh File System did not support volumes over 20
Megabyte s in size, or about 1,400 files. While this is small by today's standards, it seemed very expansive when all
Apple Macintosh computers at the time had a 400
Kilobyte floppy drive.
Apple introduced
Hierarchical File System as a replacement for MFS in September
1985 . In
Mac OS 7.6.1 , Apple removed support for writing to MFS volumes, and in
Mac OS 8 support for MFS volumes was removed altogether.
- Apple Computer, Inc. (1985). ''Inside Macintosh Volume II''. New York: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-17732-3.
