TOPIC 1: CONCEPT OF COMPUTER FILE

Definition of terms
 1. Data: a raw fact that has not been processed. It is the smallest unit (an item) of
information e.g. James, 45, Male etc.
 2. Field: it is a space/named area of a record allocated to store an item of
information, e.g. Name, Age, Gender etc.
 3. Record: It is a collection of related data items or fields about an entity i.e. a
person, thing or place. For example, a student record may consist of his/her gender, name,
age etc.
 4. (Computer) file: A file can be defined as a collection of related records that give
a complete set of information about a certain item or entity.

A file may also refer to an object on a computer that stores data, information, settings, or
commands used with a computer program. In a graphical user interface (GUI) such
as Microsoft Windows, files display as icons that relate to the program that opens the file.
A file is created using a software program on the computer. For example, to create a text
file you would use a text editor (notepad), to create an image file you would use an image
editor (paint,corel draw etc.), and to create a document you would use a word
processor (Microsoft Word, Word Perfect etc).
Computer files are stored on a drive (e.g., the hard drive), disc (e.g., DVD), and
a diskette (e.g., floppy disk) and may also be contained in a folder (directory) on that
medium.
Every created file has an extension. A file extension or file name extension is the ending of
a file that helps identify the type of file in operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. In
Microsoft Windows, the file name extension is a period that is often followed by
three characters, but may also be two or four characters long. As an example the file
name "myfile.txt" has a file extension of ".txt", which is a file name
extension associated with text files.
Assignment:
List the type of file associated with each of the following file extensions:
1.”.3gp” 2. “.exe” 3. “.dll” 4. “.bat” 5. “.html” 6.
“.cmd”
7. “.rtf” 8. “.accdb” 9. “.pptx” 10. “.cdr”
Types of data items
The following are types of data (item):
 Numeric data: these consists of digits (0-9) e.g. 1, 43, 0.56 etc.

 Alphabetic data: these consists of alphabetic characters (A-Z or a-z) only e.g. School,
Bond, Name etc.

 Alphanumeric data: these are data made up of combination or alphabets and numbers.

Types of File Organisation Method

File organization is a way of organizing the data or records in a file. It refers to how the
contents of a file are added and accessed, but not how files are organized in folders. The
four file organisation methods are:
 1. Serial file organisation: records are stored in the order they occur. They have
not been sorted in any particular order.
 2. Sequential file organisation: records are stored in a sorted order of a
particular field(s), usually the key field(s).
 3. Indexed file organisation: An indexed file contains records ordered by a record
key. A record key uniquely identifies a record and determines the sequence in which it is
accessed with respect to other records.
  4. Random or direct file organisation: records are stored randomly in no
particular order i.e. in any sequence

Methods of Accessing Files

Access method is a mechanism or manner in which the records in a file may be accessed. It
defines the way the read and write operations are done. The methods of accessing files
include:
 1. Sequential access: a sequential file access is that in which the records are
accessed in some sequence i.e., the information in the file is processed in order, one record
after the other. It requires the program to start writing or reading at the beginning and
continues until it finds the desired data. Device like magnetic tape enforces sequential
access method.
 2. Direct/random access: the records on the storage location can be accessed
(read or written to) in any order i.e. randomly/directly. Devices such as magnetic disk
storage and the main storage i.e. RAM and ROM are based on this method.
 3. Indexed-sequential access: this mechanism is built on the basis of sequential
access. An index is created for each file which contains pointer to various records (blocks).
Index is searched sequentially and its pointer is used to access the file directly.

Computer File Classifications

Computer files can be classified as follows:
 1. Master file: This is a computer file that is used as the authority in a given job
that is relatively permanent. It is
a permanent file, periodically updated, that serves as an authoritative source of data. It is
an original file from which duplicates are made.
 2. Transaction file: It is a computer file containing relatively transient data about
a particular data processing task. It is a file, especially a data file, containing transaction
records, used to update the master file.
 3. Reference file: This is a computer file containing data, which is kept so that it
can be referenced for future use. It is stable and permanent in nature.

Criteria for classifying computer file

Computer files can be classified according to the following criteria:
1. Nature of content: files of similar contents are classified together. Examples are
database file, word processed file etc.

2. Organisation method i.e. whether sequential, direct etc.

3. Storage medium: whether they are stored in tapes, disks or any other storage devices.

TOPIC 1: CONCEPT OF COMPUTER FILE

Definition of terms
 1. Data: a raw fact that has not been processed. It is the smallest unit (an item) of
information e.g. James, 45, Male etc.
 2. Field: it is a space/named area of a record allocated to store an item of
information, e.g. Name, Age, Gender etc.
 3. Record: It is a collection of related data items or fields about an entity i.e. a
person, thing or place. For example, a student record may consist of his/her gender, name,
age etc.
 4. (Computer) file: A file can be defined as a collection of related records that give
a complete set of information about a certain item or entity.
 A file may also refer to an object on a computer that stores data, information, settings, or
commands used with a computer program. In a graphical user interface (GUI) such
as Microsoft Windows, files display as icons that relate to the program that opens the file.
A file is created using a software program on the computer. For example, to create a text
file you would use a text editor (notepad), to create an image file you would use an image
editor (paint,corel draw etc.), and to create a document you would use a word
processor (Microsoft Word, Word Perfect etc).
Computer files are stored on a drive (e.g., the hard drive), disc (e.g., DVD), and
a diskette (e.g., floppy disk) and may also be contained in a folder (directory) on that
medium.
Every created file has an extension. A file extension or file name extension is the ending of
a file that helps identify the type of file in operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. In
Microsoft Windows, the file name extension is a period that is often followed by
three characters, but may also be two or four characters long. As an example the file
name "myfile.txt" has a file extension of ".txt", which is a file name
extension associated with text files.
Assignment:
List the type of file associated with each of the following file extensions:
1.”.3gp” 2. “.exe” 3. “.dll” 4. “.bat” 5. “.html” 6.
“.cmd”
7. “.rtf” 8. “.accdb” 9. “.pptx” 10. “.cdr”
Types of data items
The following are types of data (item):
 Numeric data: these consists of digits (0-9) e.g. 1, 43, 0.56 etc.

 Alphabetic data: these consists of alphabetic characters (A-Z or a-z) only e.g. School,
Bond, Name etc.

 Alphanumeric data: these are data made up of combination or alphabets and numbers.

Types of File Organisation Method

File organization is a way of organizing the data or records in a file. It refers to how the
contents of a file are added and accessed, but not how files are organized in folders. The
four file organisation methods are:
 1. Serial file organisation: records are stored in the order they occur. They have
not been sorted in any particular order.
 2. Sequential file organisation: records are stored in a sorted order of a
particular field(s), usually the key field(s).
 3. Indexed file organisation: An indexed file contains records ordered by a record
key. A record key uniquely identifies a record and determines the sequence in which it is
accessed with respect to other records.
 4. Random or direct file organisation: records are stored randomly in no
particular order i.e. in any sequence

Methods of Accessing Files

Access method is a mechanism or manner in which the records in a file may be accessed. It
defines the way the read and write operations are done. The methods of accessing files
include:
 1. Sequential access: a sequential file access is that in which the records are
accessed in some sequence i.e., the information in the file is processed in order, one record
after the other. It requires the program to start writing or reading at the beginning and
continues until it finds the desired data. Device like magnetic tape enforces sequential
access method.
  2. Direct/random access: the records on the storage location can be accessed
(read or written to) in any order i.e. randomly/directly. Devices such as magnetic disk
storage and the main storage i.e. RAM and ROM are based on this method.
 3. Indexed-sequential access: this mechanism is built on the basis of sequential
access. An index is created for each file which contains pointer to various records (blocks).
Index is searched sequentially and its pointer is used to access the file directly.

Computer File Classifications

Computer files can be classified as follows:
 1. Master file: This is a computer file that is used as the authority in a given job
that is relatively permanent. It is
a permanent file, periodically updated, that serves as an authoritative source of data. It is
an original file from which duplicates are made.
 2. Transaction file: It is a computer file containing relatively transient data about
a particular data processing task. It is a file, especially a data file, containing transaction
records, used to update the master file.
 3. Reference file: This is a computer file containing data, which is kept so that it
can be referenced for future use. It is stable and permanent in nature.

Criteria for classifying computer file

Computer files can be classified according to the following criteria:
1. Nature of content: files of similar contents are classified together. Examples are
database file, word processed file etc.

2. Organisation method i.e. whether sequential, direct etc.

3. Storage medium: whether they are stored in tapes, disks or any other storage devices.

TOPIC 1: CONCEPT OF COMPUTER FILE

Definition of terms
 1. Data: a raw fact that has not been processed. It is the smallest unit (an item) of
information e.g. James, 45, Male etc.
 2. Field: it is a space/named area of a record allocated to store an item of
information, e.g. Name, Age, Gender etc.
 3. Record: It is a collection of related data items or fields about an entity i.e. a
person, thing or place. For example, a student record may consist of his/her gender, name,
age etc.
 4. (Computer) file: A file can be defined as a collection of related records that give
a complete set of information about a certain item or entity.

A file may also refer to an object on a computer that stores data, information, settings, or
commands used with a computer program. In a graphical user interface (GUI) such
as Microsoft Windows, files display as icons that relate to the program that opens the file.
A file is created using a software program on the computer. For example, to create a text
file you would use a text editor (notepad), to create an image file you would use an image
editor (paint,corel draw etc.), and to create a document you would use a word
processor (Microsoft Word, Word Perfect etc).
Computer files are stored on a drive (e.g., the hard drive), disc (e.g., DVD), and
a diskette (e.g., floppy disk) and may also be contained in a folder (directory) on that
medium.
Every created file has an extension. A file extension or file name extension is the ending of
a file that helps identify the type of file in operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. In
 Microsoft Windows, the file name extension is a period that is often followed by
three characters, but may also be two or four characters long. As an example the file
name "myfile.txt" has a file extension of ".txt", which is a file name
extension associated with text files.
Assignment:
List the type of file associated with each of the following file extensions:
1.”.3gp” 2. “.exe” 3. “.dll” 4. “.bat” 5. “.html” 6.
“.cmd”
7. “.rtf” 8. “.accdb” 9. “.pptx” 10. “.cdr”
Types of data items
The following are types of data (item):
 Numeric data: these consists of digits (0-9) e.g. 1, 43, 0.56 etc.

 Alphabetic data: these consists of alphabetic characters (A-Z or a-z) only e.g. School,
Bond, Name etc.

 Alphanumeric data: these are data made up of combination or alphabets and numbers.

Types of File Organisation Method

File organization is a way of organizing the data or records in a file. It refers to how the
contents of a file are added and accessed, but not how files are organized in folders. The
four file organisation methods are:
 1. Serial file organisation: records are stored in the order they occur. They have
not been sorted in any particular order.
 2. Sequential file organisation: records are stored in a sorted order of a
particular field(s), usually the key field(s).
 3. Indexed file organisation: An indexed file contains records ordered by a record
key. A record key uniquely identifies a record and determines the sequence in which it is
accessed with respect to other records.
 4. Random or direct file organisation: records are stored randomly in no
particular order i.e. in any sequence

Methods of Accessing Files

Access method is a mechanism or manner in which the records in a file may be accessed. It
defines the way the read and write operations are done. The methods of accessing files
include:
 1. Sequential access: a sequential file access is that in which the records are
accessed in some sequence i.e., the information in the file is processed in order, one record
after the other. It requires the program to start writing or reading at the beginning and
continues until it finds the desired data. Device like magnetic tape enforces sequential
access method.
 2. Direct/random access: the records on the storage location can be accessed
(read or written to) in any order i.e. randomly/directly. Devices such as magnetic disk
storage and the main storage i.e. RAM and ROM are based on this method.
 3. Indexed-sequential access: this mechanism is built on the basis of sequential
access. An index is created for each file which contains pointer to various records (blocks).
Index is searched sequentially and its pointer is used to access the file directly.

Computer File Classifications

Computer files can be classified as follows:
 1. Master file: This is a computer file that is used as the authority in a given job
that is relatively permanent. It is
 a permanent file, periodically updated, that serves as an authoritative source of data. It is
an original file from which duplicates are made.
 2. Transaction file: It is a computer file containing relatively transient data about
a particular data processing task. It is a file, especially a data file, containing transaction
records, used to update the master file.
 3. Reference file: This is a computer file containing data, which is kept so that it
can be referenced for future use. It is stable and permanent in nature.

Criteria for classifying computer file

Computer files can be classified according to the following criteria:
1. Nature of content: files of similar contents are classified together. Examples are
database file, word processed file etc.

2. Organisation method i.e. whether sequential, direct etc.

3. Storage medium: whether they are stored in tapes, disks or any other storage devices.

TOPIC TWO: HANDLING COMPUTER FILES

Basic operations on Computer files
The following are some of the basic operations on a computer file:
 1. File creation: using an application package to create a file
 2. File deletion: an unneeded file can be removed (deleted) from the computer to
free up disk space.
 3. File retrieval: the file is brought out from where it is located for further
processing
 4. File copy: process of making duplicate copies of a file
 5. File open: files are loaded (opened) before it can be used. The content are
being displayed on the screen
 6. File close: when you are done with a file and need to free up main memory
space, you close the file.
 7. File read: The file read operation is performed just to read the data that are
stored in the required file. No addition is done to the file.
 8. File Write: The file write operation is used to write the data to the file, again,
generally at the current position.
 9. File Update: making changes to the content/records of a file
 10. File Rename: The file rename operation is used to change the name of the
existing file.

File insecurity and its effect

File insecurity is a concept that a file is always vulnerable and is prone to be lost or missing in the
computer. Virus attack, careless deletion of files, hardware failure/malfunctioning etc. are some of the
causes of file insecurity.

The following are the effects of file insecurity:

 1. Loss of data

2. Data unreliability

3. Data corruption

Methods of File Security

The methods of file security include:

1. Use of backup: make copy of computer files on DVD, external HD, CD etc.

2. Use of antivirus: install and update antivirus to avoid virus attack

3. Passwords: Password your computer to prevent unauthorized access to the files.

4. Proper labeling of storage devices: this helps in identifying what file is stored in a particular
storage device

5. Disk/directory/file encryption: encode/encrypt the file to make it meaningless to anyone that

may have unauthorized access to it.

6. Physical security: e.g. security guards, alarm systems, lock on rooms and on computer etc.

Advantages and disadvantages of computer file

Advantages

1. Faster and efficient in processing of information

2. More secure

3. Fast to access

4. Uses less space

5. More accurate

6. Can be updated

7. Permits long term storage and retrieval

Disadvantages/limitations

1. Expensive to set up

2. Require power supply

3. Data are often duplicated

4. Can be corrupted
 5. Vulnerable to virus attack

6. Requires formal training to handle

Differences between Computer Files and Manual Files

Computer files Manual files

More secured Less secured

More reliable Less reliable

Can easily and neatly be modified Cannot be easily and neatly modified

Fast to access Slow to access especially if there is large number

of file to check from

Can be attacked by virus and worms Can be attacked by rodents, insects, fire etc.