In computer
disk terminology, an extent is a set of
contiguous sectors that are part of a
file. Ideally,
a file would need only one extent, but sometimes
it must be
fragmented into several extents.
Some filesystems locate the blocks of a file with an
extent list, which lists the start block and length
of each extent. Other filesystems give a list of each
individual block. (Each method has its advantages.)
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