File Organization refers to the manner by which records in a file are arrange while File Access refers to the manner by which records in a file are retrieved. To better understand the need for file organization and file access, let us first review our file storage devices.

The most commonly used file storage media are magnetic tapes and magnetic disks (including diskette). There are still some who make use of punched cards, but this has been dercreasing lately. Other storage media such as large-capacity core magnetic drum and laser storage are used less frequently.

File organizations are influenced by the properties (specialy the access to records) of the available storage media and devices.

Task Competences

• Module 1: Access Devices
• Module 2: File Organization
• Module 3: Record Format
• Module 4: File Creation Cycle of Sequential Files
• Module 5: Keyed Files Vs. Non-Keyed Files
• Module 6: File Creation Cycle of Indexed-Sequential Files
• Module 7: Introduction to File Handling