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Unix files have (at least) two sizes

(utcc.utoronto.ca)
68 points ingve | 1 comments | 14 Apr 25 10:18 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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its-summertime ◴[17 Apr 25 01:19 UTC] No.43712112[source]▶
symbolic links in ext4 can be stored in the inode data, meaning zero bytes in the file representing the symbolic link itself (of course, the inode data is bigger as a result(?))

small files in btrfs can be stored in the metadata blocks instead of data blocks

replies(1): >>43712841 #
1. Dylan16807 ◴[17 Apr 25 03:29 UTC] No.43712841[source]▶
I think you mean the actual size, and in that case no it's not bigger. Inodes are a fixed size, usually 256 bytes, and a file strictly has one inode. The only growth happens in data blocks.

It's also worth looking at NTFS, where a file can have multiple records, the equivalent of inodes. But it uses the same logic for tiny files. If it doesn't fit inside the base record, it goes into a data block. Multiple records only show up for large amounts of metadata.