Structured and Unstructured Files

Some files have an organised structured.Databases are often arranged as a sequence of records. In a relational database, all the records have the same layout and size.


Most files are less structured. It´s possible to predict the sequence of bits in a picture, formatted word-processed document or program. Files like this are referred to as binary files.

Files are usually saved with a extension, which is an extra part of the file name that indicates the type of file that it is. The extension usually follows a dot in the file name.

Some extensions have become common, for example, the doc in "letter.doc". This indicates that the file is a word-processed document. It will be associated with the user´s word processor.

Table about extension files