A file is organized so that the ordering of data records is the same as or close to the ordering of data entries in some index. Then that index is called

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Official answer: C) Clustered

File Organization and Indexing

By definition, an index is called a clustered index if the physical ordering of the data records in the file is the same as (or close to) the ordering of the data entries in the index.

If the records in the data file are not sorted in the same order as the search key in the index, it is called an unclustered index.
A dense index contains an index entry for every search key value in the file.
A sparse index contains index records for only some of the search key values (usually one per data block).

Therefore, the correct option is (C).

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This File Organization and Indexing previous year question is Q24 of the GATE CSE 2015 Set 1 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on File Organization and Indexing in Databases, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.

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File Organization and Indexing in GATE CSE

File Organization and Indexing has 17 GATE CSE PYQs across 17 papers from 2011 to 2026. 5 of them are 1-mark MCQs like this one, and it is the only one in GATE CSE 2015 Set 1.

How GATE tests File Organization and Indexing

More from GATE CSE 2015 Set 1

Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.