sequential-access

[si-kwen-shuhl-ak-ses]

adjective

Computers.

1. of or relating to a storage medium, as magnetic tape, in which records must be accessed by reading or writing from the beginning of the file.

2. of or relating to file processing in which records are organized based on the sequence of keys contained in each record, and in which accessing a record necessitates first accessing all of the preceding records.

sequential access

noun

1. a method of reaching and reading data from a computer file by reading through the file from the beginning Compare direct access

Word History and Origins

Origin of sequential access¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Storage tapes only offer sequential access - meaning data has to be accessed in the order in which it was written.

From BBC