flat file

operating system, storage A single file containing flatASCII representing or encoding some structure, e.g. of a

database, tree, or network. Flat files can be processed

with general purpose tools (e.g. awk or Perl) and texteditors but are often less efficient than some kind of

binary file if they must be parsed repeatedly by a

program. Flat files are more portable between different

operating systems and application programs than binary

files, and are more easily transmitted in electronic mail.

See also flatten, sharchive.

[Jargon File]

(1996-01-26)