nocsav wrote:

>
> I am still curious if this feature exists or if people think it would
> provide any benefits...
>

The feature did exist at one point on VAX/VMS. For unix systems, we
don't explicitly extend the file at all, the code calls write with the
desired offset for the page to be written.

Yes, there could be problems if the file becomes very fragmented, but
data is typically read in written in pages and not in order from front
to back, and pages themselves won't be fragmented. So far, most people
who are concerned about data file fragmentation find, as you did, that
the real problem is a build-up of old record versions and index entries.
Happily, Firebird 2.0 goes a long way toward avoiding those problems.

Regards,


Ann