Flat data refers to a collection of data stored in a two-dimensional database in which similar yet discrete strings of information are stored as records in a table. The term "flat file" is most often used to describe a flat-file database, which is a simple two-dimensional repository of like data. The data is arranged in rows across columns or fields, and each row contains the same type of information as the other rows in the flat file. Flat files can be plain text files or binary files, and they lack integrated indexes, built-in references between data elements, or complex data types. Flat files are commonly used in internet of things (IoT) and data warehouse/data lake environments because of their simplicity and low overhead. Flat data is also a term used in the context of the Flat Data project, which aims to simplify everyday data acquisition and cleanup tasks by running on GitHub Actions. In contrast to flat data, normalized data refers to data that is stored in a relational database with multiple tables and relationships between them.