answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

,

Both terms "direct access" and "sequential access" as you must have guessed refer to accessing schemes in the file system.

In broadest sense difference between these two can be stated like this

-In sequential access data is stored at random locations.

-In direct access data is stored at sequential locations.

( Ironically this is true No matter what kind of first impression we get when we hear it for the first time. )

-In sequential access addition of data is fast but retrieval of data is slow.

-In direct access addition of data is slow as reordering of data blocks may be needed to put current data block after the last used data block for the file. But retrieval of data is fast.

-Data structure implementing Sequential access is linked list.

-Data structure implementing Direct access is an Array.

Application areas:-

A situation where rate of addition of data is much larger compared to retrieval of data Sequential access is preferred, in opposite situation Direct access is more suitable.

Regards,

Prime

There are technical explanations as to how it works, but in simple terms, direct access means going straight to the record you want, whereas sequential access means going through all records one by one until you find the one you want.

User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

the different between direct and serial access is direct access,the required data is directly from the direct access and the serial access data access,the computer has to search the storage medium from the beginning to the end.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Klementa Abela

Lvl 2
1y ago
  • Serial access is slower as it has to pass through the locations before the requested one to arrive on it.
  • Direct access simply moves ("hops") to the requested location immediately.
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is the difference between direct access and sequential access?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

Differentiate between Direct Access and Sequential Access methods?

the difference between them is that direct access, such as a DVD allows you to go directly to a specific piece of data using an index, whereas sequential access is when data is chronologically stored on a VCR tape or Magnetic tape, you must go through all the data before you reach the data your looking for.


Difference between direct sequential file and index sequential file?

Explain the difference between sequential and direct file access.A. Sequential access to data is used when the data has to be read from the start, in sequence. It is the normal method of access for magnetic tape. Direct access is used when it is possible to jump directly to a file or data item without reading through all the items stored before it. This is the normal method used for hard disks.


What is file processing methods sequential and direct access?

ygu7yi8u9'uuuy87t6drdfujm


Is floppy disk store sequential access files?

False. It is considered as direct access storage devive


What is the difference between the file maintenance and file organization?

file organization is of 3 types sequential,direct and indexed sequential where how data is accessed in eash file is decided where as file maintainence is


Defference between direct sequential and index sequential?

reduce the chance of false identification.----apex


Differences among sequential access direct access?

Let's say you have a set of 100 pieces of data, which are all names. Now, if you want to find a specific name, "Kevin", you can find it in different ways. You could either go through each of the records one after another, or you could randomly generate a number, and check if that record is "Kevin", this is potentially faster than sequential access as "Kevin" could be the last record.


File accessing techniques in data management system?

Information is kept in files. Files reside on secondary storage. When this information is to be used, it has to be accessed and brought into primary main memory. Information in files could be accessed in many ways. It is usually dependent on an application.Sequential Access: A simple access method, information in a file is accessed sequentially one record after another. To process the with record all the 1-1 records previous to 1 must be accessed. Sequential access is based on the tape model that is inherently a sequential access device. Sequential access is best suited where most of the records in a file are to be processed. For example, transaction files.Direct Access: Sometimes it is not necessary to process every record in a file. It may not be necessary to process records in the order in which they are present. Information present in a record of a file is to be accessed only if some key value in that record is known. In all such cases, direct access is used. Direct access is based on the disk that is a direct access device and allows random access of any file block. Since a file is a collection of physical blocks, any block and hence the records in that block are accessed. For example, master files. Databases are often of this type since they allow query processing that involves immediate access to large amounts of information. All reservation systems fall into this category. Not all operating systems support direct access files. Usually files are to be defined as sequential or direct at the time of creation and accessed accordingly later. Sequential access of a direct access file is possible but direct access of a sequential file is not.Indexed Sequential Access: This access method is a slight modification of the direct access method. It is in fact a combination of both the sequential access as well as direct access. The main concept is to access a file direct first and then sequentially from that point onwards. This access method involves maintaining an index. The index is a pointer to a block. To access a record in a file, a direct access of the index is made. The information obtained from this access is used to access the file. For example, the direct access to a file will give the block address and within the block the record is accessed sequentially. Sometimes indexes may be big. So hierarchies of indexes are built in which one direct access of an index leads to info to access another index directly and so on till the actual file is accessed sequentially for the particular record. The main advantage in this type of access is that both direct and sequential access of files is possible.


What are the techniques of file processing?

The common techniques of file processing include sequential access, random access, and direct access. Sequential access involves reading data sequentially from the beginning to the end of a file. Random access allows reading data from any part of the file without having to read the preceding data. Direct access uses a key or address to locate specific data within the file.


Difference between direct and sequential access?

RAM or Random Access Memory is used for fast computer memory. The word "Random" is a bit of a misnomer, as there is nothing random about access to this memory. What it actually means is that you can select an address at "random", that is, any address within the capability of the memory, and read or write data to/from that address just as fast as you could read or write data to any other address. In other words, data stored anywhere in the memory can be accessed quickly. Serial memory is different in that access time depends upon where on the medium the data is stored. Examples are magnetic tape, optical disk, magnetic disk. "arbitary access" is not a term used in electronics that I can find. I think it is just another term for "random access".


What are advantages and disadvantages of contiguous memory allocation?

The advantage of contiguous memory allocation is 1. It supports fast sequential and direct access 2. It provides a good performance 3. the number of disk seek required is minimal The disadvantage of contiguous memory allocation is fragmentation.


What is an intersection in spreadsheet?

The intersection of a row and a column in a spread sheet is called a_CELL___________? The rectangle in a flowchart is used to represent_One step in the process; the step is written inside the box or a starting or end point. . Which of the foll. is not a programming construct a)sequence b)selection Vc)automated routine d)repetition c) automated routine What is the difference between direct access and sequential access Sequential access is when data is accessed sequentially. If something happens sequentially it happens in a set order. For instance a cassette tape is sequential. In order to get to a particular track we need to fast forward through a range of other songs first. This is sequential access. Sequential access processes the data in the order in which it was stored. CDs on the other hand are not sequential. With a CD we can go straight to any track we choose. This is called direct access. What is a realtime system and give one application of it Realtime is a system that must happen right now. It is mission critical and doesn't care about the load on the system. Buying something with a credit card and it processes immediately is in realtime. What are 3 measures that can be used to prevent unauthorized access to an email account. Firewall, spam and virus checker, and strong passwords.