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dolly
Warnings : 1
New User
Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 3
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Hi All,
Plaese let me know
"What is a flat file? " |
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crm
New User
Joined: 14 Nov 2005
Posts: 25
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all sequencial files are flat files.
correct me if i'm wrong |
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priyesh.agrawal
Senior Member
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
Posts: 1448
Location: Chicago, IL
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superk
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Joined: 26 Apr 2004
Posts: 4652
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA
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A flat file is a file that has no depth, i.e. a file that is written in such a way that is contains a left-hand boundary in the first byte, and from there continues out to the nth byte without ever returning back to the first byte. In other words, a file of one record with an infinite length.
An example of a flat file is an ASCII binary file.
There is no related concept in the world of MVS datasets, which is why I continually fail to understand why this topic is even discussed here. |
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superk
Global Moderator
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
Posts: 4652
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA
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As a follow-up, here are some web definitions of the terms "flat file":
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Flat files are data files that contain records with no structured relationships. Additional knowledge is required to interpret these files such as the file format properties.
A computer file where all the information is run together in a signal character string.
A file consisting of records of a single record type, in which there is no embedded structure information governing relationships between records.
Sometimes referred to as interface file, is designed to hold EDI data prior to and following translation or transmission to and from a trading partner.
An ASCII data file produced by a business application that is converted into ANSI ASC X12 format by translation software, and vice versa. It typically uses fixed-length format rather than variable length ANSI ASC X12 format. Also known as a User Defined File (UDF).
Said of a text file that contains only 7-bit ASCII characters and uses only ASCII-standard control characters (that is, has no embedded codes specific to a particular text formatter markup language, or output device, and no meta-characters).
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