pertaining to the ability to obtain data from, or place data in, external storage without the need to sequentially scan other data contained there.
2.
pertaining to the method of organization and access used for a data structure in which records are located by their keys, without reference to other records that may have been previously accessed.
a method of reading data from a computer file without reading through the file from the beginning as on a disk or drum Also called random access Compare sequential access
Contemporary definitions for direct access
noun
the ability of retrieving data directly and instantly from a computer file, no matter where the data is located in the file; also called random access