Sparse bundles, sparse files, and sparse matrices explained in a nutshell, and how a sparse bundle could have a band which is a sparse file containing a sparse matrix.
clone
Adds support for reporting whether a file is a sparse file, or has been cloned, in Big Sur.
New version searches for sparse files and clones, reporting their individual sizes and totals for the folder or volume examined.
Can APFS really store more on disk using sparse files and clones? Is there such a thing as a free lunch, or do these tricks have a cost?
APFS can ‘clone’ files when copying or duplicating them within the same volume. But how can you tell whether any given file is a clone?
Looking in more detail at newer tricks used by APFS on the data of files: sparse files, which can squeeze vast empty files almost to nothing; file clones; and compression, opening up in Big Sur.
Looking at what’s involved in updating Big Sur’s new Sealed System Volume shows what’s necessary for successful cloning.
What happens when you copy a large file to the same volume, or duplicate it, on the same APFS volume? Here are the answers.
What to do, when you can, before taking or sending your Mac in for service or repair. What about FileVault? And Activation Lock?
An ingenious idea to save storage space: leave out empty areas in large files – make them sparse. Do they exist in APFS as claimed?
The Eclectic Light Company 