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flat file ThesaurusNoun | 1. | flat file - a file with two flat surfaces file - a steel hand tool with small sharp teeth on some or all of its surfaces; used for smoothing wood or metal | Translationsflat file
flat file[′flat ‚fīl] (computer science) A two-dimensional array. flat file (operating system, storage)A single file containing flat ASCII representing or encoding some structure, e.g. of adatabase, tree, or network. Flat files can be processedwith general purpose tools (e.g. awk or Perl) and text editors but are often less efficient than some kind ofbinary file if they must be parsed repeatedly by aprogram. Flat files are more portable between differentoperating systems and application programs than binaryfiles, and are more easily transmitted in electronic mail.
See also flatten, sharchive.flat fileA 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. Flat files can be related, but only if the applications are programmed to do so. See relational database.LegalSeeRecordFinancialSeeflatAcronymsSeefoliosflat file Related to flat file: Flat file databaseWords related to flat filenoun a file with two flat surfacesRelated Words |