File Allocation Table
File Allocation Table or FAT is a computer file system architecture originally purchased by Bill Gates and then developed by Bill Gates and Marc McDonald during 1976–1977.[1][2] It is the primary file system for various operating systems including DR-DOS, OpenDOS, FreeDOS, MS-DOS, OS/2 (v1.1) and Microsoft Windows (up to Windows Me). For floppy disks (FAT12 and FAT16 without long filename support) it has been standardized as ECMA-107[3] and ISO/IEC 9293.[4][5] The use of long filenames with FAT is patented in part. The FAT file system is relatively straightforward and is supported by virtually all existing operating systems for personal computers. This makes it an ideal format for solid-state memory cards and a convenient way to share data between operating systems.
