1. Apple-Dev | Cocoa
  2. Topics

APFS & FileSystem attributes

2551phil
 

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I'm wondering whether we'll still be able to call NSFileManager api's like attributesOfItem and get back things like NSFileReferenceCount and the like. 

Does APFS make any difference to this?


TIA


Phil

Jens Alfke
 

On Aug 15, 2017, at 2:30 AM, 2551phil <2551phil@...> wrote:

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I'm wondering whether we'll still be able to call NSFileManager api's like attributesOfItem and get back things like NSFileReferenceCount and the like.
Does APFS make any difference to this?
If it did, it would break most apps, so no.

—Jens

2551phil
 

Breaking stuff isn’t always a red line for Apple, but from your reaction I’ll take it that there’d have been an righteous outcry by now were it the case.

I’ve had my head stuck in the sand as far as APFS is concerned (I don’t have the hardware to test it) and only just today suddenly wondered: “hell, it is going to mess up all my FileSystem calls is it?"

Anyway, thanks for the reassurance.


Best


Phil

On 15 Aug 2017, at 22:02, Jens Alfke <jens@...> wrote:


On Aug 15, 2017, at 2:30 AM, 2551phil <2551phil@...> wrote:

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I'm wondering whether we'll still be able to call NSFileManager api's like attributesOfItem and get back things like NSFileReferenceCount and the like.
Does APFS make any difference to this?
If it did, it would break most apps, so no.

—Jens



Jens Alfke
 


On Aug 15, 2017, at 8:25 AM, 2551phil <2551phil@...> wrote:

I’ve had my head stuck in the sand as far as APFS is concerned (I don’t have the hardware to test it) and only just today suddenly wondered: “hell, it is going to mess up all my FileSystem calls is it?"

It wouldn’t be a valid filesystem if it didn’t support the system calls like stat() that NSFileManager uses to get file attributes.

Now, not every filesystem supports every attribute (you’re not going to get file reference counts on a FAT volume), but since APFS was explicitly designed as the successor to HFS+, I’m pretty certain it supports everything HFS+ does.

—Jens

Sean McBride
 

On Tue, 15 Aug 2017 22:25:41 +0700, 2551phil said:

I’ve had my head stuck in the sand as far as APFS is concerned (I don’t
have the hardware to test it)"
You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image. You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.

Sean

2551phil
 

On 16 Aug 2017, at 09:42, Sean McBride <sean@...> wrote:

You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image. You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.

You do if you want to test APFS, which is only available for SSD or Fusion disks the last time I checked.

Admittedly, I haven’t yet checked the release notes for the most recent beta, but I've been having problems getting previous betas of HS to install on Parallels anyway.


Best


Phil
@sqwarq

Alex Zavatone
 

What is HS?

On Aug 21, 2017, at 10:44 AM, 2551phil <2551phil@...> wrote:



On 16 Aug 2017, at 09:42, Sean McBride <sean@...> wrote:

You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image. You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.

You do if you want to test APFS, which is only available for SSD or Fusion disks the last time I checked.

Admittedly, I haven’t yet checked the release notes for the most recent beta, but I've been having problems getting previous betas of HS to install on Parallels anyway.


Best


Phil
@sqwarq



2551phil
 


On 21 Aug 2017, at 22:45, Alex Zavatone <zav@...> wrote:

What is HS?


High Sierra. 

Steve Mills
 

On Aug 21, 2017, at 10:46 AM, Alex Zavatone <zav@...> wrote:

What is HS?

I'm guessing High Sierra, macOS 10.13. Yet another reason why people should use version numbers and not these silly, meaningless code names.

Sent from iCloud's ridiculous UI, so, sorry about the formatting

 

James Walker
 

On 8/21/2017 8:44 AM, 2551phil wrote:


On 16 Aug 2017, at 09:42, Sean McBride <sean@...> wrote:

You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image.  You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.


You do if you want to test APFS, which is only available for SSD or Fusion disks the last time I checked. 

Admittedly, I haven’t yet checked the release notes for the most recent beta, but I've been having problems getting previous betas of HS to install on Parallels anyway.

I was able to make a disk image with APFS format, and it wasn't in the latest beta.  I didn't try making an APFS boot disk, which you might need for some kinds of testing.

Alex Zavatone
 

James, I’ve got time this afternoon to help on this front if you want.  Please contact me offline if you’d like.  

Cheers.

On Aug 22, 2017, at 1:03 PM, James Walker <list2@...> wrote:

On 8/21/2017 8:44 AM, 2551phil wrote:

      

        
On 16 Aug 2017, at 09:42, Sean McBride <sean@...> wrote:

You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image.  You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.


      

      
You do if you want to test APFS, which is only available for SSD or Fusion disks the last time I checked. 

Admittedly, I haven’t yet checked the release notes for the most recent beta, but I've been having problems getting previous betas of HS to install on Parallels anyway. 


    

    

    I was able to make a disk image with APFS format, and it wasn't in
    the latest beta.  I didn't try making an APFS boot disk, which you
    might need for some kinds of testing.

  








					


				
				
				
			

			
				

			

			
	

		

			

			

			
				

					

						
						
					

				

			

		
		

			

				

			

		

		
		
		

		
		
	


		


			
		
			
				
	

		

			
			

			
			
			

				

					


						
							
								
	
		
			
		
		
  
	
    2551phil
	

	

							
						
					

					

						
							


						
						 
						
							
							
						
						
					

				

			

			

			


I’ve heard it *rumoured* (YMMV) that the public release of HS will only support bootable APFS on SSD-only machines - no support for platters or even Fusion platter/ssd drives. 

That’s a step-back from the latest beta, so perhaps there are some irresolvable issues about using APFS on spinning metal. 


Best


Phil




				
					
					

					


On 23 Aug 2017, at 01:22, Alex Zavatone <zav@...> wrote:

James, I’ve got time this afternoon to help on this front if you want.  Please contact me offline if you’d like.  

Cheers.

On Aug 22, 2017, at 1:03 PM, James Walker <list2@...> wrote:

On 8/21/2017 8:44 AM, 2551phil wrote:
On 16 Aug 2017, at 09:42, Sean McBride <sean@...> wrote:

You could presumably test it in a VM, or using a spare old external drive or USB key, or even just create a disk image.  You don't need an extra Mac whose boot disk can be wiped.

You do if you want to test APFS, which is only available for SSD or Fusion disks the last time I checked. 

Admittedly, I haven’t yet checked the release notes for the most recent beta, but I've been having problems getting previous betas of HS to install on Parallels anyway. 


I was able to make a disk image with APFS format, and it wasn't in the latest beta.  I didn't try making an APFS boot disk, which you might need for some kinds of testing.



					


				
				
				
			

			
				

			

			
	

		

			

			

			
				

					

						
						
					

				

			

		
		

			

				

			

		

		
		
		

		
		
	


		


			
		
	

	

		
		
		
		
		
	

	

		
		
		
		
		
	

	
	

		
		
		
		
	



	

		
		
		
		
		
		
	

	

	

		

			
	
		

			

				

					
						
							1 - 12 of 12