Final answer:
The basic elements of a flat file are record, field, and delimiter.
Step-by-step explanation:
The basic elements of a flat file include a record, field, and delimiter. A record is a collection of related data items, while a field is a single piece of data within a record. A delimiter is used to separate fields within a record.
For example, let's say we have a flat file containing information about students. Each student's information is a record, and within each record, we have different fields such as name, age, and grade. In this case, a comma (,) or a tab may be used as the delimiter to separate the fields.