Editing Flat-file database (section)

==History==

[[Herman Hollerith]]'s work for the [[United States Census Bureau|US Census Bureau]] first exercised in the [[1890 United States census]], involving data tabulated via hole punches in paper cards,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Blodgett|first=John H.|last2=Schultz|first2=Claire K.|date=1969|title=Herman hollerith: data processing pioneer|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/asi.4630200307|journal=American Documentation|language=en|volume=20|issue=3|pages=221–226|doi=10.1002/asi.4630200307|issn=1936-6108|url-access=subscription}}</ref> is sometimes considered the first computerized flat-file database, as it included no cards indexing other cards, or otherwise relating the individual cards to one another, save by their group membership.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In the 1980s, configurable flat-file database [[computer application]]s were popular on the [[IBM PC]] and the [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]]. These programs were designed to make it easy for individuals to design and use their own databases, and were almost on par with [[word processors]] and [[spreadsheet]]s in popularity.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} Examples of flat-file database software include early versions of [[FileMaker]] and the [[shareware]] [[PC-File]] and the popular [[dBase]].

Flat-file databases are common and ubiquitous because they are easy to write and edit, and suit myriad purposes in an uncomplicated way.

===Modern implementations===

Linear stores of [[NoSQL]] data, [[JSON]] data, primitive spreadsheets (perhaps comma-separated or tab-delimited), and text files can all be seen as flat-file databases because they lack integrated indexes, built-in references between data elements, and complex data types. Programs to manage collections of books or appointments and [[address book]]s may use single-purpose flat-file databases, storing and retrieving information from flat files unadorned with indexes or pointing systems.

While a user can write a table of contents into a text file, the text file format itself does not include a concept of a table of contents. While a user may write "friends with Kathy" in the "Notes" section for John's contact information, this is interpreted by the user rather than a built-in feature of the database.  When a database system begins to recognize and codify relationships between records, it begins to drift away from being "flat," and when it has a detailed system for describing types and hierarchical relationships, it is now too structured to be considered "flat."