Database Systems

Role and Advantages of the DBMS

• Improved data sharing• Improved data security• Better data integration• Minimized data inconsistency• Improved data access• Improved decision making• Increased end-user productivity

Types of Databases

• single-user database• desktop database

• multiuser database• workgroup database• enterprise database

Types of Databases

• centralized database• distributed database• operational

database/transactional/production database• Data warehouse

Data Structure

• Unstructured data• Structured data• Semistructured data

EVOLUTION OF FILE SYSTEM DATA PROCESSING

• Manual File Systems• Computerized File Systems

PROBLEMS WITH FILE SYSTEM DATA PROCESSING

• Lengthy development times• Difficulty of getting quick answers• Complex system administration• Lack of security and limited data sharing• Extensive programming

Structural and Data Dependence

A file system exhibits structural dependence, which means that access to a file is dependent on its structure.

Conversely, structural independence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.

DATABASE SYSTEMS

The Database System Environment

• The term database system refers to an organization of components that define and regulate the collection, storage, management, and use of data within a database environment

Five Components

1. Hardware. Hardware refers to all of the system’s physical devices; for example, computers (PCs, workstations, servers, and supercomputers), storage devices, printers, network devices (hubs, switches, routers, fiber optics), and other devices (automated teller machines, ID readers, and so on).

Five Components

2. Software. Although the most readily identified software is the DBMS itself, to make the database system function fully, three types of software are needed: operating system software, DBMS software, and application programs and utilities.

Five Components

3. People. This component includes all users of the database system. On the basis of primary job functions, five types of users can be identified in a database system: system administrators, database administrators, database designers, system analysts and programmers, and end users. Each user type, described below, performs both unique and complementary functions.

Five Components

4. Procedures. Procedures are the instructions and rules that govern the design and use of the database system. Procedures are a critical, although occasionally forgotten, component of the system. Procedures play an important role in a company because they enforce the standards by which business is conducted within the organization and with customers. Procedures are also used to ensure that there is an organized way to monitor and audit both the data that enter the database and the information that is generated through the use of those data.

Five Components

4. Data. The word data covers the collection of facts stored in the database. Because data are the raw material from which information is generated, the determination of what data are to be entered into the database and how those data are to be organized is a vital part of the database designer’s job.

DBMS Functions

• Data dictionary management• Data storage management• Data transformation and presentation• Security management• Multiuser access control• Backup and recovery management• Data integrity management• Database access languages and application

programming interfaces• Database communication interfaces

Why a Spreadsheet Is Not a Database?

While a spreadsheet allows for the creation of multiple tables, it does not support even the most basic database functionality such as support for self-documentation through metadata, enforcement of data types or domains to ensure consistency of data within a column, defined relationships among tables, or constraints to ensure consistency of data across related tables. Most users lack the necessary training to recognize the limitations of spreadsheets for these types of tasks.

Managing the Database System: A Shift in Focus

• Increased costs• Management complexity• Maintaining currency• Frequent upgrade/replacement cycles