example, adding a customer date-of-birth field to the CUSTOMER file shown in Figure 1.3 would require the four steps
described in the previous section. Given this change, none of the previous programs will work with the new
CUSTOMER file structure. Therefore, all of the file system programs must be modified to conform to the new file
structure. In short, because the file system application programs are affected by change in the file structure, they exhibit
structural dependence. Conversely, structural independence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file
structure without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.
Even changes in the characteristics of data, such as changing a field from integer to decimal, require changes in all the
programs that access the file. Because all data access programs are subject to change when any of the file’s data
storage characteristics change (that is, changing the data type), the file system is said to exhibit data dependence.
Conversely, data independence exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics without
affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.
The practical significance of data dependence is the difference between the logical data format (how the human
being views the data) and the physical data format (how the computer must work with the data). Any program that
accesses a file system’s file must tell the computer not only what to do but also how to do it. Consequently, each