Term: HIERARCHICAL FILE STRUCTURE
A format for storing hierarchical files. Each unit of analysis has its own record structure or record type. Different units of analysis do not necessarily have the same number of bytes or characters as the records for other units of analysis. In order to give such a file a common physical record length, short logical records are typically "padded" with blanks so that they will all be the same physical record length. A hierarchical file can also be stored in a rectangular file. Typically, the hierarchical file structure is more space efficient but more difficult to use.
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