UNIT 2 FILE CONCEPTS AND FILE

STRUCTURE
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 File Organisation
2.2.1 Sequential File Organisation
2.2.2 Indexed Sequential File
2.3 Random Access File Organisation
2.4 Multi-key File Organisation
2.4.1 Multilist File Organisation
2.4.2 Inverted File Organisation
2.5 Summary
2.6 Answers to Self Check Exercises
2.7 Keywords
2.8 References and Further Reading

2.0 OBJECTIVES
In the preceding Unit of this block you have learnt about the Database Concepts
and various types of databases and database models. You have seen that the
files are main ingredient of databases. In this Unit you will learn the concepts
of files in the computer environment and also how such files are organised.
After the completion of this unit, you will be able to:

define what is file organisation and discuss its different types;

understand various file organisation techniques; and

discuss various types of indexes used in file organisation.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Generally speaking, a file consists of a collection of records. A key element in
file management is concerned with the ways in which the records themselves
are organised inside the file, since this affects system performances heavily as
far as record finding and access are concerned. Here, by “organisation”, we
refer to the logical arrangement of the records in a file (their ordering or, more
generally, the presence of ``closeness’’ relations between them based on their
content), and not to the physical layout of the file as stored on a storage media.
However, access method of records in a file is dependent upon the physical
medium on which the files, records are stored. Magnetic tape is sequential by
its very nature. To read a record you must start at the beginning of the tape and
sequentially read each record one after another (sequentially) until you get to
28 the one you want just like when you listen a song recorded in a audio tape.
With disks, of course, random access of records is possible. It is the same as
the difference between audio cassette and audio compact disc. In audio tape, File Concepts and File
Structure
you have to start at the beginning and run the tape forward until you get to the
song you want to hear. With compact disc you can play the songs in random
order or go directly to the track you want to hear.
In this unit, we will be discussing about the ways data are represented for files
on external storage devices so that required functions (e.g., retrieval, update)
may be carried out efficiently. A particular organisation method most suitable
for any application will depend upon such factors, as the kind of external storage
available, types of queries allowed, number of keys, mode of retrieval and
mode of update.

2.2 FILE ORGANISATION

The technique used to represent and store the records in a file is known as file
organisation. Thus a file is a named collection of related data or facts. Fields
are the columns containing one type of information. File is a group of all the
records. Therefore, a file contains Records and Records contain fields; Fields
contain data items; Data items contain characters (alphabets, digits, special
characters, etc.). Each character occupies one byte for its storage.

Characters

Fields

Records

File

Fig. 2.1: Components of a File

In the context of a traditional library the author catalogue is a file. Each

individual author catalogue card is a record. Each area in a card such as author,
title etc. is field.
Thus, file may consist of one or more records, a record may consist of one or
more fields and so on. A database is a collection of files that together implement
a logical data model. Therefore, file organisation refers to the method used in
organising data for storage, retrieval and processing.
The two types of files in a physical database structure are data files and index
files. Data files store the facts that comprise the database. Index files (or
directories) support access to the data files but usually do not themselves store
facts other than key values. A database’s logical structure helps in determining
which facts should be accessed and how these facts relate to one another.
Consider a simple bibliographical database. It may consist of a file of records
containing bibliographical details about books. Each record about a book may
consist of several fields (Author, Title, Imprint, etc.). For fast access to the
29
Database Concepts records we may create another file, an index file or inverted file – each record
in which may hold the index term (Name of author, Subject descriptor, etc.)
and an index number. It is similar to back of the book index.
The organisation of file determines the sequence of a file’s record, which is
the physical ordering of records in storage. It also determines the set of
operations necessary to find particular records.
Record Access Method
The method of organising the record in a file is referred to as its structure or
organisation. The method by which we search the file in order to retrieve data
is called the access method. Since the type of structure determines the possible
means of access and vice ersa, these two elements, structure/organisation and
access method, are intertwined.
Table 1: Record access for different file organisations

File Organisation Sup

Sequential Seq
Direct Seq
Indexed Seq

For a particular file the most appropriate organisation is determined on the

basis of the operational characteristics of the storage medium used and the
nature of the operations to be performed on the data. The most important
characteristic of a storage device to be considered is whether it allows direct
access to particular record occurrences or allows only sequential access to
record occurrences. Magnetic disks are examples of direct access storage
devices (abbreviated DASD’s). Magnetic tapes are examples of sequential
storage devices.
The four basic file organisation techniques that we will discuss here are the
following:
1) Sequential
2) Indexed sequential
3) Random Access
4) Multi-key

2.2.1 Sequential File Organisation

Sequential file organisation is the simplest file organisation technique. In a
sequentially organised file, records are written in a sequence in one long list.
The records in the file are arranged, in the same sequence in which they were
originally entered/written into the file. That is, the records of the file are stored
one after another e.g. record with sequence number 11 located just after the
10th record.
30
 Beginning of Record 1 File Concepts and File
Structure
file

○
Record 2

○
○

○
○

○
○
○

○
○
Record n-1

○
○
Record N

○
○
End of file

Fig. 2.2: Structure of Sequential File

The file is read from the beginning in the sequence in which the records are
arranged. Thus, in a simple sequential file, the one way to retrieve the data is
to start at the beginning of the file and read one record after the other, in
sequence, until you reach the record you are searching for. The search is
sequential, record by record. This can be time consuming especially for large
files. In searching large databases, such sequential method takes relatively
more time to identify and retrieve particular records, in comparison with other
files. A sequential file could be stored on a sequential storage device such as a
magnetic tape. Sequential files are, however, suitable for storing only archive,
backup, and transport copies databases.
Updating a sequential file usually requires the creation of a new file. To maintain
file sequence, records are copied to the point where amendment is required.
The changes are then made and copied into the new file. Following this, the
remaining records in the original file are copied to the new file.
The basic advantage offered by a sequential file is the ease of access to the
next record, the simplicity of organisation and the absence of auxiliary data
structures. However, replies to simple queries are time consuming for large
files.
In sequential file in addition to the problem of simple access, there are problems
in the insertion and deletion of records. The drawback of a sequential file is
that once a sequential file is created, records can be added only at the end of
the file. It is not possible to insert records in the middle of the file without
rewriting the file. And it is also not possible to modify an existing record
without rewriting the file. To delete a record you should locate it first.
2.2.2 Indexed-Sequential File
Indexed sequential file is designed to overcome the limitations of the sequential
file. In indexed sequential file, a file is sequenced on a particular field, and an
index for that file is built, based on that very field. Thus in indexed sequential
file a type of indexing technique is added. The index provides a mechanism
for faster search. Through indexing, a set of objects is associated to a set of
orderable quantities. The indexed sequential file organisation allows both
sequential and random processing.
A sequential (or sorted on primary keys) file that is indexed is called an indexed
sequential file. The index provides for random access to records, while the
sequential nature of the file provides easy access to the subsequent records as
well as sequential processing. An additional feature of this file system is the
overflow area. This feature provides additional space for record addition without
necessitating the creation of a new file. Before starting discussion on indexed 31
Database Concepts sequential file structure, let us, discuss the types of indexes which may be
possible.
Types of Indexes
Each record, whenever it is stored, is given particular location, and this location
number is called its address. Through this address the record can be accessed.
An index is a table which stores the key values and the corresponding addresses
of the records in a file. Given a key value, its address is located in the index
and the corresponding record can be accessed using this address. The idea
behind an index structure is similar to the one used commonly in textbooks. In
a textbook index important terms are listed at the end of the book in alphabetic
order. Along with each term, a list of page numbers or locations where the
term appears is also given. We can search the index to find a list of addresses
– page numbers in this case. This page number is a ‘direct pointer’ to the page
in the book where the term appears. One can go directly to the specified page
and find the material there. Thus, an index is an exact indication of where each
term occurs in the book.
When an index is used, the index rather than the file is used for locating a
record. A considerable amount of time is saved, but extra space is needed to
store the index. The use of index in locating a record is similar to the use of a
card index in a library. The user looks up the name of the book he/she wants in
the card index, and the index gives the call number, which is like the relative
address of the position of the book on the shelves.
An index is usually defined on a single field of a file, called an Indexing Field.
The index typically stores each value of the index field along with a list of
pointers to all disk blocks that contain a record with that field value. The values
in the index are ordered and the index file is much smaller than the data file.
There are several types of indexes. These include primary index, clustering
index, secondary index etc.
A primary index is an index specified on the primary key of a data file. Primary
key is a field which contains unique values and uniquely identifies each record.
By knowing a primary key field’s value we can access its record. The primary
key is also known as the ordering key field and is used to physically order the
file records on the disk.

Index File
Primary Key Block
Value pointer

K P

M 105

M 109

M 113

32
Fig. 2.3: A Primary Index File and Data File
A primary index is an ordered file with two fields. The first field is of same File Concepts and File
Structure
data type as the primary key field and the second is a pointer to a disk block –
a block address (Fig. 2.3). An index file contains one entry (record) for each
block in the data file. To find a record using the primary index, first the primary
key value is located and then the indicated address is used to find the record.
Thus, whenever a record is accessed, first it looks at the index, identifies the
block and then it searches sequentially within the block.
A clustering index stores data similar to a phone directory where all people
with the same last name are grouped together. A clustering index is specified
on a field that does not have a distinct value, for each record. These records are
then stored in ascending or descending order according to the data values in
this field. A table/database can have only one clustering index. e.g., if a
clustering index is build on “state” columns of the “Authors” table in the
Publisher database, the data will be ordered based on the values of “state” –
in either ascending or descending order.
A third type of index, called a secondary index, can be specified on any field
other than the primary key of the file. A secondary key is any field other than
the primary key that is used to uniquely identify a record in a table.
Use of indexed files
Indexed files are used mainly in areas where timeliness of information is highly
critical. Examples are found in airline reservation systems, job banks, military
data systems, and other inventory type applications. Here data are rarely
processed sequentially, except for the occasional, stock taking.
When some information is obtained, e.g., a free seat on a certain flight, the
data should be correct at that point of time, and if the information is updated,
e.g., a seat is sold on that flight, this fact should be immediately known
throughout the system.
Indexed files are also desirable at places where data are highly variable and
dynamic.
Self Check Exercise
1) What is an index? Describe various types of indexes.
Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
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Structure of Index Sequential Files
In Indexed-sequential organisation the records are grouped into fixed-length
data block and each record is identified by a primary key. The physical sequence
of the file is in ascending order according to the primary key. An index is
built, separate from the data records. This index contains key values together
with pointers to the data records themselves. Thus the indexed sequential file 33
Database Concepts organisation allows both sequential and random processing. This index permits
accessing individual records at random without accessing other records. The
entire file can also be accessed sequentially in an indexed sequential
organisation. For example, the white pages of an ordinary telephone directory
represent an indexed sequential organisation. In the upper left-hand corner of
each page is the name of the first person listed on that page. By using this
block index, one can easily locate the page that contains a particular name.
One can then scan the names on that page until the desired name is located.
An index-sequential file is not a single file but it consists of the data plus one
or more levels of indexes. The data file contains the actual data items. When
inserting a record, we have to maintain the sequence of records and this may
necessitate shifting subsequent records. For a large file this is a costly and
inefficient process. Instead, an overflow area is provided so that the records
that overflow their logical area are shifted into a designated overflow area and
a pointer is provided to it to the overflow location. This is illustrated below
(Fig. 2.4). Record 615 is inserted in the original logical block causing a record
to be moved to an overflow block.
.......
.......

.......
.......

611 612 614 618 624

Original logical block
.......
.......

.......
.......

.......
611 612 614 615 618 624
Original logical block Overflow block
Fig. 2.4: Overflow of Record
An index-sequential file is made up of the following components:
a) A primary data storage area. This contains the data records of the file.
b) Overflow area(s). This is used for records that are added to the file but
will not fit in the prime area.
c) Indexes. These indexes enable access to any given record.
There are two access method for the indexed sequential files.
i) Index Sequential Access Method (ISAM )
ii) Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM )
These two also represent the two basic implementation techniques of the
Indexed sequential organisation. ISAM is hardware dependent and VASM is
hardware independent technique.
Index Sequential Access Method (ISAM )
The ISAM file is a special type of indexed file. In the indexed-sequential file
the records are physically stored on the disk in groups. Within each group the
records are stored sequentially by primary key. When each group corresponds
to a physical subdivision of the disk e.g., a track, the file type is called Index
Sequential Access Method (ISAM).
A record field or a combination of fields is called a key. A key may be unique
or non-unique. It may be primary or secondary. Usually a file may have only
one primary key, giving unique names to the records of the file. Any key
34 other than the primary key is a secondary key. There may be one or more
secondary keys defined for a file. The unique primary key is the basis for the File Concepts and File
Structure
Direct and ISAM files, while secondary keys are the basis for any other type
of index.
Records in an ISAM file may be indexed in two different ways:
1) The entire file is read/searched sequentially using the primary key; and
2) the record is accessed via the index using the key value provided in each
index entry, the address is located within the index, and the record is
retrieved. A combination of the two types of search may also be used, as
with CDS-ISIS and WINISIS database searches.
Indexes may be unique or non-unique depending upon the nature of the field
or fields used for indexing. There may be several associated indexes in a file
to meet the needs of the user. An index on a particular key has the following
main functions: to provide random access to the records of the file, and to
retrieve all the records in the file in the sequence based on the key.

ISAM file combines some of the good features of indexed and sequential files.
The ISAM file requires relatively smaller disk storage space, as it maintains
records in the sequence on each track of the file, as mentioned above. A primary
key is the basis of constructing an ISAM file. There may be several secondary
indexes defined on an ISAM file.

The major disadvantage of the index-sequential organisation is that as the file

grows, performance deteriorates rapidly because of overflows and consequently
there arises the need for periodic reorganisation. Reorganisation is an expensive
process and the file becomes unavailable during reorganisation. Moreover,
random access to individual records is relatively slow, and the indexes are
organised by hardware boundaries (i.e., tracks and cylinders).

Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM)

The virtual storage access method (VSAM) is IBM’s advanced version of the
index-sequential organisation that avoids these disadvantages mentioned above.
It is more powerful and flexible than ISAM.

The VSAM files are made up of two components: the index and data. However,
overflows are handled in a different manner. In a VSAM file, the basic indexed
data block is called a control interval (or a virtual track). Each time a data
block overflows it is divided into two blocks. Appropriate changes are made
to the indexes to reflect this division.

Indexed-sequential files of the basic type discussed above are in common use
in modern commercial processing. They are used especially in on-line or
terminal-oriented access, where the files have to be updated within very short
time frame. An indexed-sequential file can, for instance, be used to produce
an inventory listing on a daily basis. Indexed-sequential files are also commonly
used to handle inquiries, like billing inquiries based on account numbers.

VSAM offers many advantages over ISAM. In VSAM, periodic file

reorganisation is not required as the file can grow indefinitely by means of the
splitting process. The VSAM file organisation is also independent of hardware
characteristics. 35
Database Concepts
2.3 RANDOM ACCESS FILE ORGANISATION
A Random access organisation is also called Direct access or Relative
organisation. A random access file is a collection of fixed-length records which
are stored adjacently. It differs from the indexed sequential organisation in
that the records are not stored in particular sequence. There is no particular
correspondence between record and the file address. To co-relate records to
file location linear addressing or hashing methods are used. In simple
implementations of direct access, identification numbers are assigned to the
data records that provide a relative address into the file. A Relative (or direct
or random access) file is fastest for retrieving individual records and is based
on primary key.

Record I

Record N
Record 2
Record N –
Record I

Record I – 1

Record 3

Fig. 2.5: Relative File Organisation

Files using linear addressing occupy least amount of disk space as there is a
one-to-one correspondence between each record key and a disk address. The
files can be added to within the limits of the disk space available. A disadvantage
of linear addressing files is that primary key values are usually assigned by the
DBMS, and these values change whenever the file is reorganised. File
organisation has to be done periodically to recover empty space in the disc due
to changes and deletions in the records.

Hashing is an algorithm used by programmers to obtain direct access to a

relative file with the primary key. In this technique, some sort of mathematical
operation is performed on a field of the record and the result is used as an
address. A Direct file which uses hashing methods permits any type of data
element to be defined as the primary key. Then it converts primary key values
directly into addresses. For example you input a Student ID Number, a
mathematical formula is applied to it, and the resulting value is the value that
points to the storage location on disk where the record can be found. This
means that we need to know the key value to retrieve a particular record.

Key value Hash function Address

Fig. 2.6: Mapping from a Key Value to an Address Value

Thus, hashing is a method for converting primary key values to disk addresses.
This is different from the direct addressing approach, because here the record
addresses are not linearly related to the key values, in fact it is a random function
36 of the key.
The random-access method is fast, since it avoids intermediate file operations, File Concepts and File
Structure
but the method forces the data to be located according to single key attribute.
In a random access, file insertions and deletions are more easily handled. It
provides rapid access to individual records since it is not necessary to search
indexes. The records are not stored in primary key sequence. However, one
disadvantage is that disk space is not as efficiently utilised and periodic
reorganisation is required.

Random access files are stored in main memory, or on direct access storage
devices, such as magnetic disks.

Random access file is the fundamental organisation of every database. Random

access files are used in many online systems like airline reservation systems,
library information retrieval system. In these systems, both updating and
retrieval are accomplished in the random mode, and there is rarely a need for
sequential access to the data records. It is most suitable in applications where
records are small and fixed, where fast access is essential, and where the data
are always simply accessed. Simple access here means use of a single key for
retrieval, and no serial access.
Self Check Exercise
2) What is the difference between sequential file and random access file?
Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
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2.4 MULTIKEY FILE ORGANISATION

In this section, we will introduce a family of file organisation schemes that
allow records to be accessed by more than one key field. Until this point, we
have considered only single-key file organisation. Sequential, by a given key;
direct access by a particular key; and indexed sequential giving both direct
and sequential access by a single key. Now we enlarge our base to include
those file organisation that enable a single data file to support multiple access
paths, each by a different key. These file organisation techniques are at the
heart of database implementation.
The ability to search on many keys is enabled by building multiple index files
(multikey file organisation) “on top of” the data file. The physical database
then consists of one or more data files and many index files, and each data file
contains either one or several record types. Each index file supports access by
a particular field or group of fields.
There are numerous techniques that have been used to implement multikey
file organisation. Most of the approaches are based on building indexes to 37
Database Concepts provide direct access by key value. In this section, we will discuss two
approaches for providing additional access paths into a file of data records.

Multilist file organisation

Inverted file organisation
2.4.1 Multilist File Organisation
The basic approach to providing the linkage between an index and the file of
data records is called multilist organisation. A multilist file maintains an index
for each secondary key. The index for secondary key contains, instead of a list
of primary keys related to that secondary key, only one primary key value
related to that secondary key. That record will be linked to other records
containing the same secondary key in the data file. The multi-list organisation
differs from inverted file in that while the entry in the inverted file index for a
key value has a pointer to each data record with that key value, the entry in the
multi-list index for a key value has just one pointer to the first data record with
that key value.
Linking records together in order of increasing primary key value facilitates
easy insertion and deletion once the place at which the insertion or deletion to
be made is known. Searching for a record with a given primary key value is
difficult when no index is available, since the only search possible is a sequential
search. To facilitate searching on the primary key as well as on secondary
keys, it is customary to maintain several indexes, one for each key. Using an
index in this way reduces the length of the lists and thus the search time. This
idea is very easily generalised to allow for easy secondary key retrieval. We
just set up indexes for each key and allow records to be in more than one list.
This leads to the multilist structure for file representation.

2.4.2 Inverted File Organisation

In inverted file organisation, a linkage is provided between an index and the
file of data records. A key’s inverted index contains all of the values that the
key presently has in the records of the data file. Each key-value entry in the
inverted index points to all of the data records that have the corresponding
value.
Inverted files represent one extreme of file organisation in which only the
index structures are important. The records themselves may be stored in any
way (sequentially ordered by primary key, random, linked ordered by primary
key etc.).

Eff index
Occupation index Salary index
510 analyst B.C. 9,000 E
620 programmer A.D.E 10,000 A
750 12,000 C,D
800 15,000 B
Sex index
950
female B.C.D
male A.E
38
Fig. 2.7: Indexes for Fully Inverted File
Inverted files may also result in space saving compared with other file structures File Concepts and File
Structure
when record retrieval does not require retrieval of key fields. In this case, the
key fields may be deleted from the records.
Both inverted files and multilist files have:

An index for each secondary key.

An index entry for each distinct value of the secondary key.

The index may be tabular or tree-structured.

The entries in an index may or may not be sorted.

The pointers to data records may be direct or indirect.
The indexes differ in that

An entry in an inverted index has a pointer to each data record with that
value.

An entry in a multilist index has a pointer to the first data record with that
value.
Thus an inverted index may have variable-length entries whereas a multilist
index has fixed-length entries.
Some of the implications of these differences are the following:

Index management is easier in the multilist approach because entries are
fixed in length.

The inverted file approach tends to exhibit better inquiry performance.
Many types of queries can be answered by accessing inversion indexes
without necessitating access to data records, thereby reducing I/O-access
requirements.

Inversion of a file can be transparent to a programmer who accesses that
file but does not use the inversion indexes, while a multilist structure
affects the file’s record layout. The multilist pointers can be made
transparent to a programmer if the data manager does not make them
available for programmer use and stores them at the end of each record.
Self Check Exercises
3) Define Inverted File.
4) Describe the similarities of inverted files and multilist files.
Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
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Database Concepts
2.5 SUMMARY
In this Unit you have learnt some basic concepts of file organisation. Not only
the medium must allow for random access to records, but the file itself must
support going directly to the record you want to retrieve. This characteristic of
the file is called “file organisation.” We discussed four fundamental file
organisation techniques. These are sequential, indexed sequential, relative (or
random access) and multikey file organisation. The selection of the appropriate
organisation for a file in an information system is important to the performance
of that system. The criteria to be considered while choosing a file organisation,
for achievement of good performance with respect to the most likely usage of
the file, are fast access to single record or collection of related records, easy
record adding/updating/removal, storage efficiency, redundancy as a warranty
against data corruption. You also studied various types of indexes like primary
index, secondary index, and clustering index.

2.6 ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES

1) An index is usually defined on a single field of a file, called an Indexing
Field. The index typically stores each value of the index field along with
a list of pointers to all disk blocks that contain a record with that field
value. There are various types of indexes: primary, secondary and
clustering indexes.

2) In a sequentially organised file, records are written consecutively when

the file is created and must be accessed consecutively when the file is
later used for input. Records in the file are arranged in the same sequence
in which they were originally entered / written into the file. A sequential
file could be stored on a sequential storage device such as a magnetic
tape. A Relative (or direct or random access) file is based on primary key.
It is fastest for retrieving individual records. With Direct file organisation,
records are assigned relative record numbers based on a mathematical
formula known as a hashing algorithm. Magnetic disks are examples of
direct access storage devices (abbreviated DASD’s).

3) Inverted File is a file organisation technique wherein index is generated

based on key values of the record. There are two files – Index File and
Data Record File

4) The inverted and multilist files have following features in common:

Both inverted files and multilist files have

An index for each secondary key.

An index entry for each distinct value of the secondary key.

The index may be tabular or tree-structured.

The entries in an index may or may not be sorted.

The pointers to data records may be direct or indirect.
40
 File Concepts and File
2.7 KEYWORDS Structure

Attribute : A named characteristic or descriptor of an

entity. Also called Data element, Data
item, Data field.
Database : A collection of logically related data that
supports shared access by many users and
is protected and managed to retain its
value.
Data File : A file that contains user records rather than
indexes to other records. Compare with
Index file.
Data Security : The ability to prevent unauthorised
accesses to and actions on a database.
File : A collection of logically related record
occurrences that are treated as a unit by a
system’s input and output routines;
commonly stored on a secondary storage
device.
File Organisation : The technique used to represent and store
the records on a file.
Primary Key : One or more attributes whose values
uniquely differentiate one entity (or
record)” instance from another.
Record : A named collection of zero, one, or many
data items.
Secondary Key : A field that is the basis for a secondary
index. The field need not have unique
values. Also called Alternate key,
Inversion entry, Compare with Primary
key.

2.8 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Bayross, Ivan N. (2003). Database Concepts and Systems. Navi Mumbai:
Shroff.
Connolly, Thomas M. and Begg, Carolyn E. (2002). Database Systems: A
Practical Approach to Design, Implementation, and Management. New Delhi:
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