Flat-file database
Database stored as an ordinary unstructured file / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Flat file system or Flat file (hand tool).
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 inferred from the data in the database, but the database format itself does not make those relationships explicit.
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The term has generally implied a small database, but very large databases can also be flat.