What was a common method of storing information in computer systems, typical of the 1960s, before the introduction of database management systems (DBMS)?

Before the introduction of database management systems (DBMS) in the 1960s, information in computer systems was commonly stored using file systems. Here's a step-by-step explanation:

1. In the early days of computing, data was stored in a flat file system. This means that data was stored in text files, often with a .txt or .csv extension.

2. These files would contain rows and columns of data, similar to a spreadsheet. Each row would represent a record, and each column would represent a field of that record.

3. To access or manipulate this data, programmers would have to write specific code. This could be time-consuming and error-prone, especially for large amounts of data.

4. The data in these files was not easily searchable or sortable, and there was no easy way to enforce relationships between different sets of data.

5. The introduction of database management systems in the 1960s revolutionized data storage, making it easier to store, access, and manipulate large amounts of data.