INDEXED FILES

 An Indexed File is a computer file with an index that allows easy random access to
any record given its file key.
 The key must be such that it uniquely identifies a record. If more than one index is
present the other ones are called Alternate Indexes. The indexes are created with the
file and maintained by the system.
 The purpose of an Index file is to provide direct (also called Random) access to data in a
database file.
 IBM supports indexed files with the Indexed Sequential Access Method on OS/360 and
successors.
 The COBOL language supports indexed files with the following command in the FILE
CONTROL section as (ORGANIZATION IS INDEXED).
 Concept of indexed files

The figure below illustrates the concept of an index

file. We have changed the Publishers data for
illustration purposes, to include a city column. The
file on the left is the index file and indexes the
Publishers data file by the City field, which is
therefore called the indexed field. The city file is
called an index for the PUBLISHERS table. (The
index file is not a table in the same sense as the
PUBLISHERS table is a table. That is to say, we
cannot directly access the index file—instead we use
it indirectly.) The index file contains the cities for
each publisher, along with a pointer to the
corresponding data record in the Publishers file.
 Create (when data file is created).

Load into memory

Write upload file to permanent storage

Operations on an Record(s) added to the file.
Indexed File Records deleted to the file.

Update record(s) in data file.

Searches
Operations on an Indexed File
Creating an Indexed file
• Input is a sorted sequential
file
• Index file is defined for
SEQUENTIAL access
• Duplicates must be removed
from the input file or trapped
using the FILE STATUS.
Writing an Indexed file
• File defined as
SEQUENTIAL access
• File OPEN OUTPUT
• WRITE record-name INVALID
KEY imperative statements
NOT INVALID KEY imperative
statements END-WRITE
Index file-Select Clause
• ORGANISATION IS INDEXED
• ACCESS IS SEQUENTIAL RANDOM DYNAMIC
• RECORD KEY IS data-name identifies the primary record key
within the files record description.
• ALTERNATE RECORD KEY is data-name-2 WITH
DUPLICATES
• FILE STATUS IS data-name-3
• An operational working storage item to record the status of I/O
operations
Reading an Indexed
File
• SEQUENTIAL access
• File OPEN INPUT
• READ file –name KEY IS data-name
INVALID KEY imperative statements
NOT INVALID KEY imperative statements
END-READ
• RANDOM access
• File OPEN INPUT
• RECORD KEY must be set prior to READ
• READ file-name KEY IS data-name
INVALID KEY imperative statements
NOT INVALID KEY imperative statements
END-READ
Operations on an Indexed File
Updating an Indexed
File
• Access defined as SEQUENTIAL
or RANDOM
• File OPEN I-O
• A Read must precede any write
Deleting records from an
Indexed File
• If Access is SEQUENTIAL a
READ must precede the
DELETE
• If RANDOM the RECORD KEY
must be set prior to the DELETE
• DELETE file-name
INVALID KEY imperative
statements