[okl]

One benefit they list is storing associated metadata in the database (specifically different types of hashes are mentioned) which is not so easy with a file system.

I think the bigger benefit though is the increased read performance on many small files (saving system call overhead). To which amount that applies to static files that a smart server might keep in cache, I don't know.

[superkuh]

I'm not sure what associated metadata is in this context but www/path/to/filename.jpg and www/path/to/filename.jpg.json would work and be very file-y. I take their/your point in it not being directly integrated though.