Physical file structures must be designed to be efficient and workable. Under explain factors that the designer should consider to achieve this goal.




  • The purpose of the file. What will the file be used for, is it used online and can it be updated online?



  • Availability of hardware. What file organizations are possible on the existing hardware, are hardware upgrades possible?



  • Method of access. Is on-line access required, will it be for inquiry only or will there be updates, what are the future requirements?



  • File activity. How is the file likely to be accessed, how many records will the file have to access?



  • File volatility. How often will records be added or deleted from the file, is this frequency likely to change?



  • File size. Is it large or small, can large files be split into smaller ones?



  • Output requirements. How the file will be processed, it should allow for different process and output requirements.



  • File requirements. Will the file be affected by one transaction at a time or will the transactions be batched?



  • File sorting. Do sorting requirements justify the use of an index or the splitting of files into smaller files?



  • Cost. The allocation of greater storage space, which would mean greater hardware costs, could be justified by an increase in processing speed.