Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue -- Introduction -- Basic terminology -- Part 1: Logical organization -- What is a data base? -- What should be the objectives of a data-base organization? -- Entities and attributes -- Data models: schemas and subschemas -- Data-base management systems -- Tree structures -- Plex structures -- Data description languages -- The CODASYL data description language -- IBM's data language/1 -- Relational data bases -- Third normal form -- canonical data structures -- Varieties of data independence -- Part 2: Physical organization -- Criteria affecting physical organization -- Differences between physical and logical organization -- Addressing techniques -- Indexed sequential organizations -- Hashing -- Pointers -- Chains and ring structures -- Physical representations of tree structures -- Physical representations of plex structures -- Multiple-key retrieval -- A comparison of multiple-key organizations -- Separating data and relationships -- Index organization -- Index-searching techniques -- Inverted file systems -- Data compaction -- Virtual memory and storage hierarchies -- Volatile files -- Fast-response systems -- Associative memory -- The mean number of probes in a binary search -- Sample logical data descriptions.