Which statement about flat-file databases is true?

Which statement about flat-file databases is true?

• A. They are easier to implement
• B. They use more disk space due to duplicate data
• C. They require less understanding
• D. They never duplicate data

Answer: (B)

Flat-file databases tend to store data in a single plain structure with little or no normalization, so related information is often repeated across records. This duplication means more space is used on disk because the same data can appear in multiple rows or files. In practice, a file handling customer orders might repeat customer details for every order, inflating disk usage compared to a normalized system that splits data into related tables and links them with keys. While a flat-file setup can seem simpler to start with, it doesn’t inherently require less understanding, and it doesn’t avoid data duplication—quite the opposite in many scenarios—so the statement about never duplicating data isn’t accurate.

Flat-file databases tend to store data in a single plain structure with little or no normalization, so related information is often repeated across records. This duplication means more space is used on disk because the same data can appear in multiple rows or files. In practice, a file handling customer orders might repeat customer details for every order, inflating disk usage compared to a normalized system that splits data into related tables and links them with keys.

While a flat-file setup can seem simpler to start with, it doesn’t inherently require less understanding, and it doesn’t avoid data duplication—quite the opposite in many scenarios—so the statement about never duplicating data isn’t accurate.