Problems with flat file databases

Locking

When using flat file databases without locking, problems can occur if two or more people open the files at the same time. This can cause data to be lost or corrupted.

If you are implementing a flat file database, you will need to handle file locking using Perl's flock function.

Complex data

If your data is more complex than a single table of scalar items, managing your flat file database can become extremely tedious and difficult.

Efficiency

Flat file databases are very inefficient for large quantities of data. Searching, sorting, and other simple activities can take a very long time and use a great deal of memory and other system resources.