[Gllug] Holes

[Alex Hudson]

On Tuesday 09 October 2001 19:07, you wrote:
> With a sparse filesystem that's fine because the empty lines don't
> take up much space.
>
> I'm sure others can have better examples that don't rely on dodgy
> coding :)

Data files. Generally, you can optimize your datatype for either speed or 
size - for example, an array has a very good space-growth order for 
fixed-size data, but rubbish insert times. By sacrificing some space, either 
a constant amount (linked list) or more, you get better insert times. 

For some applications, you may want to reserve areas of space for data that 
you haven't got but might get at some point (buckets, for example). That 
would be a reason for seeking into a file before writing, thus creating the 
hole.

BTW, this argument isn't the reason Sybase 'makes use of holes'; it doesn't. 
The VFS does. Sybase should be given a disk/partition to access anyway, not a 
file :)

Cheers,
			Alex.

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