Explain the concept of the traditional file system in DBMS?


A file system is a method of storing and organizing the computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them.

Characteristics of file system

The characteristics of file system are as follows −

  • It is a group of files for storing the data of an organization.

  • Each file is independent from one another.

  • Each file is called a flat file.

  • Files are designed by using the program written in programming languages such as C, C++.

Disadvantages of file processing system

There are so many disadvantages in the file processing system. These are explained below −

  • Separated and isolated data.

  • Duplication of data − Increases cost time and money, takes additional storage space, loss of data integrity.

  • Data Dependencies − Files and records were described by specific physical formats that were code in the application program by the programmers, difficulty in representing the data from the user point of view.

  • Data Security − The security of data is low in the file-based system because the data is maintained in a flat file and is easily accessible.

  • Transactional Problems − This system does not satisfy transactional properties called ACID properties. These ACID properties are A-Atomicity, C-Consistency, I-Isolation and D-Durability.

  • Concurrency Problems − When multiple users access the same piece of data at the same interval of time then it is called a concurrency of the system. When two or more users read the data simultaneously then there is no problem but when they like to update the file simultaneously it may cause problems.

Pictorial representation of traditional file processing

The diagram given below represents the traditional file processing in a database.

Updated on: 03-Jul-2021

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