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A database contains an entire data set (e.g. a single associative array) in a single computer file. It consists of three parts: a fixed-size header, data, and a set of hash tables. Lookups are designed for exact keys only, though other types of searches could be performed by scanning the entire database.
The inverted file data model can put indexes in a set of files next to existing flat database files, in order to efficiently directly access needed records in these files. Notable for using this data model is the ADABAS DBMS of Software AG, introduced in 1970. ADABAS has gained considerable customer base and exists and supported until today.
Formally, a "database" refers to a set of related data accessed through the use of a "database management system" (DBMS), which is an integrated set of computer software that allows users to interact with one or more databases and provides access to all of the data contained in the database (although restrictions may exist that limit access to particular data).
Example of a flat file model [1] A flat-file database is a database stored in a file called a flat file. Records follow a uniform format, and there are no structures for indexing or recognizing relationships between records. The file is simple. A flat file can be a plain text file (e.g. csv, txt or tsv), or a binary file. Relationships can be ...
In contrast, in a document-oriented database there may be no internal structure that maps directly onto the concept of a table, and the fields and relationships generally don't exist as predefined concepts. Instead, all of the data for an object is placed in a single document, and stored in the database as a single entry.
Berkeley DB (BDB) is an embedded database software library for key/value data, historically significant in open-source software. Berkeley DB is written in C with API bindings for many other programming languages. BDB stores arbitrary key/data pairs as byte arrays and supports multiple data items for a single key.
The following is provided as an overview of and topical guide to databases: Database – organized collection of data, today typically in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information (for example, finding a hotel with vacancies).
dBase's database system was one of the first to provide a header section for describing the structure of the data in the file. [citation needed] This meant that the program no longer required advance knowledge of the data structure, but rather could ask the data file how it was structured. There are several variations on the .dbf file structure ...