Flat-file database

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. Relationships can be inferred from the data in the database, but the database format itself does not make those relationships explicit.

Not to be confused with Flat file system or Flat file (hand tool).

The term has generally implied a small database, but very large databases can also be flat.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.