flat file: (n.) 1 Container or shelf used to store documents and planar materials in a horizontal position, parallel to the shelf. 2 Containers designed to hold documents unfolded. 2 [Computing] A file containing data that has no structure or markup. 3 [Computing] A data structure that is nonhierarchical, having one record per row; a table. _Society of American Archivists

flat file: (n.) 1 Container or shelf used to store documents and planar materials in a horizontal position, parallel to the shelf. 2 Containers designed to hold documents unfolded. 2 [Computing] A file containing data that has no structure or markup. 3 [Computing] A data structure that is nonhierarchical, having one record per row; a table. _Society of American Archivists