Identifying Font Files
Differences between Mac and PC files
The PC and Mac differ in the way they store files. On a Mac each file can have two parts called forks. The data fork holds data (text, images, etc.). The resource fork holds resources (icons, fonts, menus, sounds, etc.). There are actually two files linked to one name in the file system. PCs only have one file linked to each name. Macs also have two four character fields stored with the name for each file. They are called the type and creator. The type field tells the Mac software what type of file it is. The creator is a unique signature identifying a program on the Mac. This field tells the Mac OS what program to launch if the files icon is clicked. PCs identify files with a file name extension. This is the characters after a period at the end of the file name. It used to be limited to three characters from the DOS days, but it can now be larger on current Windows versions. This tells Windows both what type of file it is and what program to launch if the icon is clicked. Unlike the Mac, you have to tell Windows what program goes with what extension (this can also be done automatically by a setup program). OS X seems to be moving away from using resource forks as heavily as OS Classic. It also can use file name extensions like Windows and Linux in addition to a file type and creator. This makes files more portable and easier to transmit over networks.
(continue reading…)