sequential access

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sequential access noun

1. a method of reaching and reading data from a computer file by reading through the file from the beginning
   Compare direct access

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

se•quen•tial-ac•cess  (si kwen′shəl ak′ses), adj. [Computers.]

1. Computing of or pertaining to a storage medium, as magnetic tape, in which records must be accessed by reading or writing from the beginning of the file.
2. Computing of or pertaining to file processing in which records are organized based on the sequence of keys contained in each record, and in which accessing a record necessitates first accessing all of the preceding records. Cf. direct-access, random access. 

Also, serial-access. 

• 1965–70