What do file extensions (exe, pdf, etc) actually do?
In: Technology
They tell the OS what program is used to load that file.
The first sector of that file then confirms the type of file it is.
A jpg file says what dimensions the picture is, what size of pallet to use, where an excel file says how many worksheets are in the workbook, a mp3 file says what dynamic range is used, etc.
So a program tries to load that file, but if it has the wrong definitions (it’s a picture and not a URL), then the file fails to load.
So the file extension is just a helper to hAve the file loaded by an appropriate app vs having to figure it out each time.
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