Zero-byte file
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
A zero-byte file or zero-length file is a computer file containing no data; that is, it has a length or size of zero bytes.[1]
Creation
There are many ways that could manually create a zero-byte file, for example, saving empty content in a
$ touch filename
results in a zero-byte file filename. Zero-byte files may arise in cases where a program creates a file but aborts or is interrupted prematurely while writing to it. Because writes are cached in memory and only flushed to disk at a later time (page cacheMetadata
Even a file describing an empty
An empty file has a minimum disk size that depends on the disk block size, which can also be referred to as cluster size or IO block size, that depends in turn on the
Uses
Zero-byte files cannot be loaded or used by most applications. In some cases, zero-byte files may be used to convey information like file metadata (for example, its
IF Exist - Testing: Use the zero-byte (zero length) file as an "exit" ramp or for a "goto" statement within a batch-file or script. It provides a directory listing, but requires no disk space.
IF EXIST C:\NOTHING.TXT EXIT IF NOT EXIST C:\NOTHING.TXT GOTO START :START REM Create the zero-length file C:\>type null>nothing.txt :EXIT
References
- ^ Mathai (2019).
- ^ Team, Tech Insight (2020-08-07). "Size vs Size on Disk - Why is there a difference?". Businesstechweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ "Understanding IO Block size". Unix & Linux Stack Exchange. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
Bibliography
- Mathai, Anith (2019). "Zero-byte files. A big problem in eDiscovery. What are they, and is there anything you can do about them?". www.linkedin.com.