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ext4 isn't really a new file system, it's effectively ext2 with some more features enabled by default than you get with mkfs.ext2. (Yes, this is a simplified ve
by chungy 4y ago
ext4 isn't really a new file system, it's effectively ext2 with some more features enabled by default than you get with mkfs.ext2. (Yes, this is a simplified version, but not grossly exaggerated.)
ext2 was first released in 1993 and has had impressive work on being extended far enough to keep up with growing storage needs, but I suspect the original designers figured it'd have been tossed aside well before 2038 would pose a problem. Unfortunately that assumption has proven to be wrong (unless maybe we do junk ext[24] within 15 years' time, but it would be extraordinary unlikely that every last machine running it will do so).
- semi-extrinsic 4y agoYeah, I'm pretty sure that the people who wrote ext4 assumed there would be ext5 (or something else) to take over way before 2038. If you look at the history, ext2 was released in '93, ext3 was released in '01 and ext4 in '08. If you told the developers in '08 that ext4 would not be replaced in 30 years time, they would laugh at you (or cry).
- chungy 4y agoThat much is basically true too. It was yet another update to the tried-and-true format to pave over storage needs until btrfs stabilized.