What is flat file?

Question

A flat-file database is a database stored in a file called a flat file. Records follow a uniform format, and there are no structures for indexing or recognizing relationships between records. The file is simple. A flat file can be a plain text file (e.g. csv, txt or tsv), or a binary file.

What does flat file mean?

A data file that is not related to or does not contain any linkages to another file. It is generally used for stand-alone lists. When files must be related (customers to orders, vendors to purchases, etc.), a relational database manager is used, not a flat file manager.

Is a CSV a flat file?

One of the most common flat files is a comma-separated value (CSV) file. CSV files are files where table data is gathered in lines of American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text with the value of each table cell separated by a comma, with each row represented by a new line.

What type of file is a flat file?

Flat files are the universal mechanism for moving data from one database or system to another. There are two common types of flat files: CSV (comma separated values) and delimited files. Both are file formats that represent relational data in a text file.

Why is it called flat file?

A flat file database is a collection of records in which the data follows a uniform format and follows rules on value types where applicable. The database is flat because every line only holds one data input, depending on the categorization of the columns.

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