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CatInfo

Super FileInfo.

CatInfo edits the catalog info data stored in HFS catalog file records. It is this data Apple use to interface with the Unix API. (It is also this data which often wreaks havoc on file management from time to time.)

HFS catalog file records contain a number of archaic fields ignored by Unix but still recognised by both Finder and the file dialogs.



Many catalog info fields correspond directly to Unix APIs and related data structures. The nodeID and parentDirID fields correspond directly to the inodes for the item and the parent directory as returned by Unix stat calls. Used with directories, the valence field denotes the number of files (nlinks) minus the current and parent directories.

HFS also stores data Unix isn't interested in, which can be both good and bad. HFS has five time stamps where Unix has but fourr. And HFS declares its epoch as starting not in 1970 but in 1904.

See Also
FileInfo: Control Your Pod
Learning Curve: OS X Haunts
Learning Curve: iPod Therefore iPay

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