Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Sequential access is a term describing a group of elements (such as data in a memory array or a disk file or on magnetic-tape data storage) being accessed in a predetermined, ordered sequence. It is the opposite of random access , the ability to access an arbitrary element of a sequence as easily and efficiently as any other at any time.
This behavior can be axiomatized in various ways. For example, a common VDM (Vienna Development Method) description of a stack defines top (peek) and remove as atomic, where top returns the top value (without modifying the stack), and remove modifies the stack (without returning a value). [1] In this case pop is defined in terms of top and remove.
MS-DOS, for example, used a simple File Allocation Table (FAT). The FAT has an entry for each disk block, [note 1] and that entry identifies whether its block is used by a file and if so, which block (if any) is the next disk block of the same file. So, the allocation of each file is represented as a linked list in the table.
One may also use a sentinel node at the end of the list, with an appropriate data field, to eliminate some end-of-list tests. For example, when scanning the list looking for a node with a given value x, setting the sentinel's data field to x makes it unnecessary to test for end-of-list inside the loop. Another example is the merging two sorted ...
A list may contain the same value more than once, and each occurrence is considered a distinct item. A singly-linked list structure, implementing a list with three integer elements. The term list is also used for several concrete data structures that can be used to implement abstract lists, especially linked lists and arrays.
Array, a sequence of elements of the same type stored contiguously in memory; Record (also called a structure or struct), a collection of fields . Product type (also called a tuple), a record in which the fields are not named
Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM) is a method for creating, maintaining, and manipulating computer files of data so that records can be retrieved sequentially or randomly by one or more keys. Indexes of key fields are maintained to achieve fast retrieval of required file records in indexed files .
In IBM mainframe operating systems, Basic sequential access method (BSAM) [1] is an access method to read and write datasets sequentially. BSAM is available on OS/360, OS/VS2, MVS, z/OS, and related operating systems. BSAM is used for devices that are naturally sequential, such as punched card readers, punches, line printers, and magnetic tape.