Navigational DBMS

The term navigational DBMS describes a class of database management systems, that allow access to data sets only via linked records. Such systems were developed in the 1960s. They were the first established systems able to manage large amounts of data. Depending on the flexibility of linking, they are grouped into hierarchical DBMS and network DBMS.

The most popular systems are IMS by IBM, and IDMS by Computer Associates, which even today are occasionally in use.

See more details in our navigational DBMS ranking.