Batch Processing

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Batch Processing

Using batch processing input data is grouped together into batches. No data is processed until a complete batch has been put together. Then all the data in a batch is processed in one go. There may be a long time delay between data being input into the system and the data being processed.

In this type of system the important data that the computer stores all the time is kept in a file called the master file. The data in the master file is sorted into order using one of the fields in the records in the file, known as the primary key field. The primary key field must uniquely identify each record in the file.

Each piece of input data (which will update the contents of the master file) is known as a transaction. All the input data is put together into a batch in a file called the transaction file. There are three different types of transaction that any processing system will have to cope with. They are:

* Add a new record to the master file.

* Delete a record from the master file.

* Amend / update