in reply to Biggest file?

On the basis of the replies so far (many thanks to all respondents), a file handling utility that catered for files up to 256 Terabytes and individual lines and records up to 64k, would likely cater for most peoples every day requirements?

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The start of some sanity?

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Re^2: Biggest file? (Conclusion?)
by jdporter (Paladin) on Dec 19, 2011 at 14:56 UTC

    Uh, sounds like it would be massive overkill for "most people's everyday requirements". :-)

[reply]
      sounds like it would be massive overkill for "most people's everyday requirements".

      Maybe, but once you go bigger than 4GB, you have to start dealing with 64-bit integers, which at 16 million TB is really overkill :)

      So, since I also need to keep track of the length of each record/line, I figured that using the lower 48 bits for offsets (256TBmax) and the upper 16-bits for the length (64k), means that I can manipulate 'record descriptors' which are 64-bits each.

      Not only are these easily manipulated as 'integers', they are also a cache friendly size which might also yield some performance benefits.

      In an ideal world, the split point would be a runtime option which might allow (say) dealing with genomic stuff where individual sequences can be substantially bigger than 64k; but overall file sizes tend to be much smaller. But I cannot see an easy way to make that decision at runtime.

      With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

      The start of some sanity?
[reply]
        Just asking out of curiosity did you write this utility? If yes can you please share it with us?
[reply]

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