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File System and Storage Flashcards

6 cards from real ACSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

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  1. What is the difference between 'Move to Trash' and 'Secure Empty Trash' in macOS?

    Answer: Move to Trash only unlinks the file (space is recoverable); Secure Empty Trash overwrote data multiple times — though this feature was removed in El Capitan because SSDs make overwriting unreliable

    Standard trash deletion only removes directory entries (files are recoverable with tools). Secure Empty Trash overwrote file data, but Apple removed this feature in OS X El Capitan (10.11) because overwriting on SSDs and APFS volumes is unreliable — the file system may not write to the same physical blocks.

  2. What type of file permission system does macOS use in addition to standard Unix permissions?

    Answer: Access Control Lists (ACLs) that allow granular per-user and per-group permission assignments beyond the basic owner/group/other model

    macOS supports POSIX ACLs (Access Control Lists) in addition to standard Unix permissions (owner/group/other). ACLs allow fine-grained permissions for specific users or groups on individual files, such as allowing one user to read but not write while another user has full access.

  3. What are 'extended attributes' in macOS file system and how can they be viewed?

    Answer: Metadata attached to files outside the normal file contents, viewable with 'xattr -l filename' in Terminal

    Extended attributes (xattrs) are arbitrary metadata attached to files and directories at the file system level, separate from the file's data. They're used for things like Quarantine flags, Finder tags, and custom metadata. Viewable with 'xattr -l filename'.

  4. What is Target Disk Mode and which connection types support it?

    Answer: Target Disk Mode makes a Mac appear as an external drive to another Mac; supported over Thunderbolt and USB-C on Intel Macs, and replaced by Share Disk on Apple silicon via Thunderbolt

    Target Disk Mode (Intel Macs) makes a Mac act as an external drive when connected via Thunderbolt, USB-C, or FireWire. Apple silicon Macs use 'Share Disk' in macOS Recovery instead, accessible over Thunderbolt/USB-C connections.

  5. What is the function of the hidden '/private/var/vm/' directory on macOS?

    Answer: It stores virtual memory swap files that macOS uses when physical RAM is full

    The /private/var/vm/ directory contains macOS virtual memory swap files (swapfile0, swapfile1, etc.). When RAM is fully utilized, macOS writes less-used memory pages to these swap files on disk to free up physical RAM.

  6. How does APFS handle file cloning and why is it faster than a traditional file copy?

    Answer: APFS clones create an instant copy-on-write duplicate that shares the same underlying data blocks until either file is modified, requiring no actual data copying at creation time

    APFS file cloning uses copy-on-write (COW) semantics: a clone is created instantly by sharing the same physical data blocks as the original. No data is actually duplicated until one of the files is modified, at which point only the changed blocks are written anew.