Introduction to Sequential File

Organization
The Sequential file organization is a popular file organization in the database

management system (DBMS). It is a simple technique for file organization

structure. This technique stores the data element in the sequence manner that is

organized one after another in binary format. The File organization in DBMS

supports various data operations such as insert, update, delete, and retrieve the

data. The file store the unique data attributes for identification and that helps to

place the data element in the sequence. It is logical sequencing in computer

memory that stores the data element for the database management systems.

Sequential File Organization Methods

The sequential file organization is one of the categories among various file

organizations types. There are two commonly used methods available for

organizing the data element in the file storage. The methods are useful to manage

and process the data store for sequential file organization

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The sequential file organization methods are as follows:

1. Pile file method

It is a standard method for sequential file organization in which the data elements

are inserted one after another in the order those are inserted. And in case of a new

record being inserted, it is placed at the end position of the file that is after the last

inserted data element or record.

In the scenario of data modification or data deletion operation, the particular data

element is searched through the sequence in the memory blocks, and after it is

found, the update or deletion operation applied to that data element. Also, for the

delete operation, the identified data element is marked for deletion and the new

block of the record is inserted.

We will discuss the insert operation to demonstrate the pile file method in the

sequential file organization using an example scenario.

The pile file method is represented with the insert of a new record scenario in

figure 1.1. We have represented each data element as one memory block such as

R1 for the 1st data element, R4 is the second data element, and the R2 is the last
data element of the file. Once a new data element named R6 is inserted into the file

structure, It will be placed and stored after the R2 and it is the end of the file

position.

Figure 1.1 shows the pile file method working process in the sequential file

organization in the database management system.

2. Sorted file method

The Sorted file method is another popular method for sequential file organization

in the database management system. This method provisions the data element to be

arranged and stored in the shorted order. The data elements are stored as ascending

or descending order based upon the primary key or any other key reference.

In the case of the shorted file method scenario, the new data element or the new

record is inserted at the end position of the file. After the inserting step, It then gets

shorted in the ascending or the descending order based upon the key.
For the update or data modification scenario, the data element is searched, and

updated based upon the condition. And, after the update operation completes the

shorting process happens to rearrange the data elements, and the updated data

element is placed at the right position of the sequential file structure.

Similarly, for deletion operation, the data item is searched through the shorted

sequence, and mark as delete once it gets identified. After the delete operation

completes the other data elements are get shorted and rearranged again with the

original ascending or descending order.

We will discuss the insert operation to demonstrate the shorted file method in the

sequential file organization using an example scenario.

Let us assume, there is a sequential file contains R1, R3, Rn, R7 data elements and

are present in ascending order based on the primary key reference. A new record

R2 is inserted after R7 that is the end of the file position and all the records are

shorted and R2 is placed one the second position after the record R1.

Figure 1.2 represents the two-step process for the shorted file method for

sequential file organization.

Step 1- Insert a new record R2 at the end of the file position

Step 2- After the R2 insert completes, it gets shorted in the ascending order.
Advantages and Disadvantages
IN this section, we will discuss some of the advantages and the disadvantages of

the sequential file organization from the uses, efficiency, and resource dependency

aspects.

Advantages
● The sequential file organization is efficient and process faster for the large

volume of data.

● It is a simple file organization compared to other available file organization

methods.

● This method can be implemented using cheaper storage devices such as

magnetic tapes.

● It requires fewer efforts to store and maintain data elements.

 ● The sequential file organization technique is useful for report generation and

statistical computation process.

● This file organization is a preferred method for calculating aggregates that

involve most of the data elements that have to be accessed while performing

the computation process. Some of the popular use cases are calculating

grades for the students, generating payslips for the employees, and

generating the invoices in the business.

Disadvantages
● The shorting operation is a time-consuming process and more memory

space for the shorted file method in the sequential file organization.

● The shorting operations iterate for every writes operation such as insert,

update, or delete

● The traversing time is high in the sequential file organization as for each

writes operation, the system or the program control cannot find a particular

data item directly at one go, it has to traverse through the sequence of data

items.

Conclusion
The sequential file organization is the basic form of data storage techniques that

are useful for large volumes of data storage and processing systems. The sequential

file organization that holds the named collection of information on the secondary

storage like the magnetic disk, optical disks, and magnetic tables in the sequential

order.