FLASH: a language-independent, portable file access system

A file access system, flash, for use in building database systems is described. It supports access from several languages, including pascal, fortran, and interlisp. Flash provides record level access to a file with multiple indexes using symbolic keys. It is portable and written in Pascal with support routines in dec System 20 macro. The file access system is designed to run on computers of various sizes and capabilities, including micros. Concurrent and simultaneous access by several users is supported given that the operating systems provides multiprogramming. Flash is designed to be highly reliable. It assumes the existence of underlying operating system file services that read or write named files directly. Transfer to files occurs in units which are efficient, typically a block.