Date: Wednesday, 2 Feb 2005 12:06:37 -0600 (CST) Ground Hogs Day From: Mark Jacobson To: Bilbo Baggins Subject: Re: VB.Net Assignment Question Bilbo, The output file will be a random access file consisting of 11 different random file records. Each of the 11 records will have three fields: 1. NumberOfRecords (from 0 to 5) (*** Integer ***) 2. Overflow (True or False, can't be true unless NumberOfRecords == 5 for our simple system where deletes are not allowed) (*** Boolean ***) 3. A 3rd field for holding anywhere from 0 to 5 logical records, i.e. student records. The logical records would each be separated by a semicolon, with each field within a student logical record separated by a comma from the next field. (*** String ***) The comma and semicolon delimited issue is just a part of that 3rd data holding field area for each of the 11 buckets. The buckets are randomly accessed records for a random access file. Mark On Wed, 2 Feb 2005, Bilbo Baggins wrote: > Hi Mark, > I was working on my program for assignment 2 and found > myself a bit confused about how the output file should > look. The assignment sheet says it should be a random > access file, but in class today (Wednesday) you talked > about making the file comma-and-semicolon delimited. > Which type should we use? > > Thanks, > Bilbo Baggins