The Flat File Database Generator Ffg
Douglas E. Comer · Purdue e-Pubs (Purdue University System) · 1981
A fiat file is the simplest possible database. It consists of a single. unformatted text file in which each line corresponds to a record. k-l occurrences of a separator character divide each record into k variable length fields; the separator character does not otherwise appear in the file. Unlike most database systems, the fiat file system is not a single. large program. Instead, it consists of a set of small, independent programs. called primitives. that each perform one basic operation. The user composes a subset of the primitives by directing the output of one to the input of the next in order to perform complex retrieval or update operations. Because they arc independent, primitives are easily modified or replaced, and one can add programs to the set of primitives. Both the selection of primltives as well as their implementation are discussed.