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What is a flat file data base in lam-ens terms please? :)?

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What is a flat file data base in lam-ens terms please? :)?

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A flat file database is a text file, with one record per line. It is in one of two formats: delimited or fixed width. If it’s delimited, then the columns (fields) are separated by something like a comma, tab, or pipe (|). If it’s fixed width then it’s assumed that, for instance, characters 1-10 in a column are the record ID, 11-20 are the first name, 21-40 are the last name, etc. Amendment based on comments from the following answer: Fixed width flat file databases are extremely fast to read because you can always find record N by going to byte N*width in the file. If they’re properly sorted, this means you can perform binary searches for the record you’re looking for, or do a direct jump to index. Sorted delimited flat files can also be searched via binary tree, but you have to jump to a random spot and then find the next carriage return before identifying if you’re ahead or behind the record you’re looking for. If sorted, both types of flat file are prohibitively slow to write to.

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