Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Random access compared to sequential access. Random access (more precisely and more generally called direct access) is the ability to access an arbitrary element of a sequence in equal time or any datum from a population of addressable elements roughly as easily and efficiently as any other, no matter how many elements may be in the set.
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.
A direct-access storage device (DASD) (pronounced / ˈ d æ z d iː /) is a secondary storage device in which "each physical record has a discrete location and a unique address". The term was coined by IBM to describe devices that allowed random access to data, the main examples being drum memory and hard disk drives . [ 1 ]
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.
Basic Direct Access Method, or BDAM is an access method for IBM's OS/360 and successors computer operating systems on System/360 and later mainframes. BDAM "consists of routines used in retrieving data from, and storing data onto, direct access devices." [1]: p.5 BDAM is available on OS/360, OS/VS2, MVS, z/OS, and related high-end operating ...
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 .
Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) [1] is an IBM direct-access storage device (DASD) file storage access method, first used in the OS/VS1, OS/VS2 Release 1 (SVS) and Release 2 (MVS) operating systems, later used throughout the Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) architecture and now in z/OS.
An access method is a function of a mainframe operating system that enables access to data on disk, tape or other external devices. Access methods were present in several mainframe operating systems since the late 1950s, under a variety of names; the name access method was introduced in 1963 in the IBM OS/360 operating system. [ 1 ]