How do databases physically store data on a filesystem?

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I need to know how data from databases is stored on a filesystem. I am sure, that different databases use different ways of storing data, but I want to know what the general rule is (if there is one), and what can be changed in settings of a particular DB.

  1. How is the whole database stored? In one big file or one file per table?
  2. What if a table is enormous? Would it be split into few files?
  3. What is typical size of file in that case?
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