Database Concepts for the Systems Analyst
Files and Tables
- Similar records are organized into groups called files.
- A file is the set of all occurrences of a given record structure.
- In database systems, a file corresponds to a set of similar records; usually called a table.
- A table is the relational database equivalent of a file.
- Some of the types of files and tables include:
- Master files or tables contain records that are relatively permanent.
- Once a record has been added to a master file, it remains in the system indefinitely.
- The values of fields for the record will change over its lifetime, but the individual records are retained indefinitely.