Week 11: Clear, Deleting Records

One of the file maintenance procedures is deleting records. File maintenance refers to the procedures that keep data current. When information is no longer needed, the user deletes it from the file. Database management systems then either removes the record from the file immediately or the records can be flagged so that it cannot be processed again. Flagging can be done by noting an asterisk at the beginning of the file name like this, *courtneyblog. The thing about a flagged record is that it physically remains on your disk, taking up space. It is best to run programs that remove flagged records often so that space can be opened up and the data will remain current.

Deleting records is important to the business world because just like the student example given in the book, employers also have to delete the records of employees sometimes. It can also be the case that a business has confidential information that they no longer need, but no one else can see the documents. When deleting records of this status it is very important to make sure it is deleted properly and not able to be retained. This site gives you a program, QuickWiper, that will delete files safely and gives you the steps to do so. It is probably better to use programs like this instead of just pressing delete when dealing with secure or personal records.