Variable Length Record

What
A variable length record is one that stores a set number of fields but where fields can have variable amount of data. Think VARCHAR

Implementations
There are two general implementations that are covered
 * Using delimiters
 * Reserve array of pointers at the beginning that points to the beginning of the ith field relative to the start of the record

Delimiters
In this approach, we can store the data sequentially in memory, where we separate fields with a special delimiter ($ in this case)

Array of Pointers
In this approach, we manage an array of pointers at the beginning of the record where the ith pointer points to the beginning of the ith field relative to the start of the record

Advantages

 * This method allows us to deal with fields containing null values very easily because if a field contains a null value, the pointer to the end of the field is set to be the pointer to the beginning of the field