File Organization: The Consecutive Retrieval Property

The consecutive retrieval property is an important relation between a query set and record set. Its existence enables the design of an information retrieval system with a minimal search time and no redundant storage. Some important theorems on the consecutive retrieval property are proved in this paper. Conditions under which the consecutive retrieval property exists and remain invariant have been established. An outline for designing an information retrieval system based on the consecutive retrieval property is also discussed. © 1972, ACM. All rights reserved.