In computer science sequential access means that a group of elements (e.g. data in a memory array or a disk file or on a tape) is accessed in a predetermined, ordered sequence. Sequential access is sometimes the only way of accessing the data, for example if it is on a tape. It may also be the access method of choice, for example if we simply want to process a sequence of data elements in order. Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Computer Science Open Directory Project: Computer Science Downloadable Science and Computer Science books Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies Belief that title science in computer science is inappropriate nacho Categories: Computer science ...

In data structures, a data structure is said to have sequential access if one can only visit the values it contains in one particular order. The canonical example is the linked list. Indexing into a list which has sequential access requires O(k) time, where k is the index. As a result, many algorithms such as quicksort and binary search degenerate into bad algorithms that are even less efficient than their naïve alternatives; these algorithms are impractical without random access. On the other hand, some algorithms, typically those which don't perform indexing, require only sequential access, such as mergesort, and so face no penalty. A binary tree, a simple type of branching linked data structure. ... In computer science, a linked list is one of the fundamental data structures used in computer programming. ... Quicksort in action on a list of random numbers. ... In computer science, binary search or binary chop is a search algorithm for finding a particular value in a list of data. ... In computer science, random access is the ability to access a random element of a group in equal time. ... In computer science, merge sort or mergesort is a sort algorithm for rearranging lists (or any other data structure that can only be accessed sequentially, e. ...

See also random access and direct access. In computer science, random access is the ability to access a random element of a group in equal time. ... In telecommunication, the term direct access has the following meanings: 1. ...