Full-Text File

A file with certain properties that distinguish it from a Segmented file. Specifically, it is stored in the form of its Display File ("what you see is what is stored") plus markers and tags, whereas the Fields of Segmented Files are often stored apart. At the time of display, a Record of full-text is retrieved and displayed just as it was stored, whereas a Record from a Segmented File is re-composed from the separate storage locations of its Fields. When a given file could be processed either way, simplicity favors the full-text approach (including Fielded full-Text for added searching precision) and output flexibility favors the Segmented File, since a record can be re-composed with any set of Fields in any order.

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