Question

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Before you can perform data output, you must first decide the form in which you want the output data to appear.

Onscreen and flat-file output are sometimes appropriate in a small system, such as a modest inventory application in which updated results display on a screen to be analyzed by a user, and in which output is designed for little more than backup on a local, secure machine. Displaying information onscreen can be a benefit, since the user does not have to produce and review a program-generated report, while saving small amounts of data to an easily-read file with no requirement to manage a database can be the best approach if program requirements do not dictate otherwise. However, in high-volume scenarios where one program "feeds" large amounts of data to another program, console output and flat-file data storage may not make practical sense.

Answer 1

There are many ways to store your data, such as in an online database, in a local SQLite database, or even in a text file. It is up to you to decide what is the best solution for your application. If your application is small you can choose console display or flat file output, but for large systems it is better to manage database and display it from retriving database.

  Flat files are one of the more common sources to work with because data in the flat files can easily read and create by most RDBMS systems and ETL tools, The challenges in working with flat files deal with handling data in a format in which data types are not enforced, and data that is structured in challenging ways. You may also run into files that are encoded into a different code page than ASCII, such as a UNIX encoding.

A flat file database is a type of database that stores data in a single table. This is unlike a relational database, which makes use of multiple tables and relations. Flat file databases are generally in plain-text form, where each line holds only one record. The fields in the record are separated using delimiters such as tabs and commas.

Flat file database tables can be set in various application types, including HTML documents, simple word processors or worksheets in spreadsheet applications. The tables within a flat file database can be sorted based on column values. These tables serve as a solution for simple database tasks.

In spite of the limitations associated with flat files, flat file databases are used internally by various computer applications to store data related to configuration. Most of the applications permit users to store and retrieve information from flat files based on a predefined set of fields.

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

In contrast A database is an organized collection of data. Database programs enable you to put and access a collection of information into a specific order: alphabetical, numerical, chronological, or some combination of the three. A Database Management System (DBMS) is a system software that allows users to efficiently define, create, maintain and share databases. Due the evolution of Database management system, companies are getting more from their work because they can keep records of everything. Also it makes them faster to search information and records about any people or product that makes them more effective in work.

All application such as Railway Reservation System, Library Management System,Banking applications use to store and display the information because they have to maintain large database and RDBMS provides some benefits such as

Avoid Data redundancy and inconsistency

In DBMS, data can be shared easily due to centralized system.

Maintain data concurrency.

DBMS maintains data integrity by enforcing user defined constraints on data by itself.

Data searching is easy and fast.