Hierarchical model vs. Flatfile db model

 The Difference between Hierarchical and Flat file model

A hierarchical data model is a data model in which the data is organized into a tree-like structure. The structure allows representing information using parent/child relationships: each parent can have many children but each child only has one parent (also known as a 1:many ratio ). All attributes of a specific record are listed under an entity type.

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A flat file database describes any of various means to encode a database model (most commonly a table) as a single file (such as .txt or .ini).