Page 1
SESSION 1: APPRECIATE CONCEPT OF DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Relevant Knowledge
A database is an organized collection of data. You can visualize it as a container of
information.
The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the
availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information
(for example, finding a hotel with facilities such as Laundry, GYM etc…).
Suppose if you own a stationary shop, you need to keep detailed records of the materials
available in your shop. You also need to store information about pricing, stock levels for
reordering, old stocks, etc. While in the manual system, you would maintain several files
with different bits of information; in the computerized system you would use database
programs such as Microsoft Access, OpenOffice.org Base, and MySQL, to organize the
data as per your business need.
The database concept has evolved since the 1960s to ease increasing difficulties in
designing, building, and maintaining complex information systems (typically with many
concurrent end-users, and with a large amount of diverse data).
In this lesson, you will learn database concepts and to work with a Database Management
System (DBMS).
Database Management System
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that
controls the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to
conveniently develop databases for various applications. A database is an integrated
collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user
application programs to concurrently access the same database.
Well known DBMSs include Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro, and SQLite.
Data can be organized into two types:
• Flat File: Data is stored in a single table. Usually suitable for less amount of data.
• Relational: Data is stored in multiple tables and the tables are linked using a common
field. Relational is suitable for medium to large amount of data.
Page 2
SESSION 1: APPRECIATE CONCEPT OF DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Relevant Knowledge
A database is an organized collection of data. You can visualize it as a container of
information.
The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the
availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information
(for example, finding a hotel with facilities such as Laundry, GYM etc…).
Suppose if you own a stationary shop, you need to keep detailed records of the materials
available in your shop. You also need to store information about pricing, stock levels for
reordering, old stocks, etc. While in the manual system, you would maintain several files
with different bits of information; in the computerized system you would use database
programs such as Microsoft Access, OpenOffice.org Base, and MySQL, to organize the
data as per your business need.
The database concept has evolved since the 1960s to ease increasing difficulties in
designing, building, and maintaining complex information systems (typically with many
concurrent end-users, and with a large amount of diverse data).
In this lesson, you will learn database concepts and to work with a Database Management
System (DBMS).
Database Management System
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that
controls the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to
conveniently develop databases for various applications. A database is an integrated
collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user
application programs to concurrently access the same database.
Well known DBMSs include Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro, and SQLite.
Data can be organized into two types:
• Flat File: Data is stored in a single table. Usually suitable for less amount of data.
• Relational: Data is stored in multiple tables and the tables are linked using a common
field. Relational is suitable for medium to large amount of data.
Database Servers
Database servers are dedicated computers that hold the actual databases and run only the
DBMS and related software. Typically databases available on the database servers are
accessed through command line or graphic user interface tools referred to as Frontends;
database servers are referred to as Back-ends. Such type of data access is referred to as a
client-server model.
Advantages of Database
? Reduces Data Redundancy
The database management systems contain multiple files that are to be stored in many
different locations in a system or even across multiple systems. Because of this, there
were sometimes multiple copies of the same file which lead to data redundancy.
This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is reflected
immediately. Because of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.
? Sharing of Data
In a database, the users of the database can share the data among themselves. There are
various levels of authorisation to access the data, and consequently the data can only be
shared based with the authorized users.
Many remote users can also access the database simultaneously and share the data
between themselves.
? Data Integrity
Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the database. Data Integrity
is very important as there are multiple databases in a DBMS. All of these databases
contain data that is visible to multiple users. So it is necessary to ensure that the data is
correct and consistent in all the databases and for all the users.
? Data Security
Data Security is an important concept in a database. Only authorised users should be
allowed to access the database and their identity should be authenticated using a username
and password. Unauthorised users should not be allowed to access the database under any
circumstances as it violates the integrity constraints.
Page 3
SESSION 1: APPRECIATE CONCEPT OF DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Relevant Knowledge
A database is an organized collection of data. You can visualize it as a container of
information.
The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the
availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information
(for example, finding a hotel with facilities such as Laundry, GYM etc…).
Suppose if you own a stationary shop, you need to keep detailed records of the materials
available in your shop. You also need to store information about pricing, stock levels for
reordering, old stocks, etc. While in the manual system, you would maintain several files
with different bits of information; in the computerized system you would use database
programs such as Microsoft Access, OpenOffice.org Base, and MySQL, to organize the
data as per your business need.
The database concept has evolved since the 1960s to ease increasing difficulties in
designing, building, and maintaining complex information systems (typically with many
concurrent end-users, and with a large amount of diverse data).
In this lesson, you will learn database concepts and to work with a Database Management
System (DBMS).
Database Management System
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that
controls the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to
conveniently develop databases for various applications. A database is an integrated
collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user
application programs to concurrently access the same database.
Well known DBMSs include Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro, and SQLite.
Data can be organized into two types:
• Flat File: Data is stored in a single table. Usually suitable for less amount of data.
• Relational: Data is stored in multiple tables and the tables are linked using a common
field. Relational is suitable for medium to large amount of data.
Database Servers
Database servers are dedicated computers that hold the actual databases and run only the
DBMS and related software. Typically databases available on the database servers are
accessed through command line or graphic user interface tools referred to as Frontends;
database servers are referred to as Back-ends. Such type of data access is referred to as a
client-server model.
Advantages of Database
? Reduces Data Redundancy
The database management systems contain multiple files that are to be stored in many
different locations in a system or even across multiple systems. Because of this, there
were sometimes multiple copies of the same file which lead to data redundancy.
This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is reflected
immediately. Because of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.
? Sharing of Data
In a database, the users of the database can share the data among themselves. There are
various levels of authorisation to access the data, and consequently the data can only be
shared based with the authorized users.
Many remote users can also access the database simultaneously and share the data
between themselves.
? Data Integrity
Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the database. Data Integrity
is very important as there are multiple databases in a DBMS. All of these databases
contain data that is visible to multiple users. So it is necessary to ensure that the data is
correct and consistent in all the databases and for all the users.
? Data Security
Data Security is an important concept in a database. Only authorised users should be
allowed to access the database and their identity should be authenticated using a username
and password. Unauthorised users should not be allowed to access the database under any
circumstances as it violates the integrity constraints.
? Privacy
The privacy rule in a database states that only the authorized users can access a database
according to its privacy constraints. To secure data levels are set in the database and a
user can only view the data which is allowed to be seen. For example - In social
networking sites, access constraints are different for different accounts a user may want
to access.
? Backup and Recovery
Database Management System automatically takes care of backup and recovery. The
users don't need to backup data periodically because this is taken care of by the DBMS.
Moreover, it also restores the database after a crash or system failure to its previous
condition.
? Data Consistency
Data consistency is ensured in a database because there is no data redundancy. Data
Consistency means there should be multiple mismatching copies of the same data. All
data appears consistently across the database and must be same for all the users viewing
the database. Moreover, any changes made to the database are immediately reflected to
all the users and there is no data inconsistency.
Features of Database
Let’s look at the example of your address book. What do you store in an address book?
You may have people’s name, address, phone number and maybe even their birthdays.
There is a common element here – people. In this example, each person is considered an
“ITEM”.
So, database will store information about that person. When you were recording
information in your address book, what did you ask the people? What is your address?
What is your phone number? etc. Each question that we ask about our ITEM is a “field”.
Now, say you make new friends and want to add their information to your address book.
You will ask questions, get the answers and create a new “record”. So, a record is a set
of information (made up of fields) stored in your database about one of the items. A
“value” is the actual text or numerical amount or date that you put in while adding
Page 4
SESSION 1: APPRECIATE CONCEPT OF DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Relevant Knowledge
A database is an organized collection of data. You can visualize it as a container of
information.
The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the
availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information
(for example, finding a hotel with facilities such as Laundry, GYM etc…).
Suppose if you own a stationary shop, you need to keep detailed records of the materials
available in your shop. You also need to store information about pricing, stock levels for
reordering, old stocks, etc. While in the manual system, you would maintain several files
with different bits of information; in the computerized system you would use database
programs such as Microsoft Access, OpenOffice.org Base, and MySQL, to organize the
data as per your business need.
The database concept has evolved since the 1960s to ease increasing difficulties in
designing, building, and maintaining complex information systems (typically with many
concurrent end-users, and with a large amount of diverse data).
In this lesson, you will learn database concepts and to work with a Database Management
System (DBMS).
Database Management System
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that
controls the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to
conveniently develop databases for various applications. A database is an integrated
collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user
application programs to concurrently access the same database.
Well known DBMSs include Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro, and SQLite.
Data can be organized into two types:
• Flat File: Data is stored in a single table. Usually suitable for less amount of data.
• Relational: Data is stored in multiple tables and the tables are linked using a common
field. Relational is suitable for medium to large amount of data.
Database Servers
Database servers are dedicated computers that hold the actual databases and run only the
DBMS and related software. Typically databases available on the database servers are
accessed through command line or graphic user interface tools referred to as Frontends;
database servers are referred to as Back-ends. Such type of data access is referred to as a
client-server model.
Advantages of Database
? Reduces Data Redundancy
The database management systems contain multiple files that are to be stored in many
different locations in a system or even across multiple systems. Because of this, there
were sometimes multiple copies of the same file which lead to data redundancy.
This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is reflected
immediately. Because of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.
? Sharing of Data
In a database, the users of the database can share the data among themselves. There are
various levels of authorisation to access the data, and consequently the data can only be
shared based with the authorized users.
Many remote users can also access the database simultaneously and share the data
between themselves.
? Data Integrity
Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the database. Data Integrity
is very important as there are multiple databases in a DBMS. All of these databases
contain data that is visible to multiple users. So it is necessary to ensure that the data is
correct and consistent in all the databases and for all the users.
? Data Security
Data Security is an important concept in a database. Only authorised users should be
allowed to access the database and their identity should be authenticated using a username
and password. Unauthorised users should not be allowed to access the database under any
circumstances as it violates the integrity constraints.
? Privacy
The privacy rule in a database states that only the authorized users can access a database
according to its privacy constraints. To secure data levels are set in the database and a
user can only view the data which is allowed to be seen. For example - In social
networking sites, access constraints are different for different accounts a user may want
to access.
? Backup and Recovery
Database Management System automatically takes care of backup and recovery. The
users don't need to backup data periodically because this is taken care of by the DBMS.
Moreover, it also restores the database after a crash or system failure to its previous
condition.
? Data Consistency
Data consistency is ensured in a database because there is no data redundancy. Data
Consistency means there should be multiple mismatching copies of the same data. All
data appears consistently across the database and must be same for all the users viewing
the database. Moreover, any changes made to the database are immediately reflected to
all the users and there is no data inconsistency.
Features of Database
Let’s look at the example of your address book. What do you store in an address book?
You may have people’s name, address, phone number and maybe even their birthdays.
There is a common element here – people. In this example, each person is considered an
“ITEM”.
So, database will store information about that person. When you were recording
information in your address book, what did you ask the people? What is your address?
What is your phone number? etc. Each question that we ask about our ITEM is a “field”.
Now, say you make new friends and want to add their information to your address book.
You will ask questions, get the answers and create a new “record”. So, a record is a set
of information (made up of fields) stored in your database about one of the items. A
“value” is the actual text or numerical amount or date that you put in while adding
information to your database. When you put all the information together in a grid (like
you do in a spreadsheet), a collection of similar records creates a table.
There are some key features of a database:
1. A database can have one or many tables. An address book example is a very simple
one, in real world there are many more details involved. A big company would have
in its database, one table for its products, one table for its suppliers, one table for its
customer details, one for orders received and maybe many others.
2. Each table in a database contains information about one type of item. So, a database
is a container that holds tables and other objects and manages how they can be used.
3. Another very important thing to remember is that when we put in information, we may
have people with the same name (there can be more than one Charu Arora) or the same
address (members of a family). But when creating a database an important feature is
record uniqueness in every table. it is important to be able to distinguish between
different items having duplicate values.
Uniqueness helps to avoid accidental duplication of records caused by user or
computer error. This can be achieved by using some number or value that uniquely
identifies a record. If such a unique value does not exist in your fields, as the database
designer, you can create a special additional field in a table where unique numbers or
values can be assigned for each new entry. Therefore, every table has a key field which
ensures that there are 100% unique values throughout the database.
4. Every database table should have one or more fields designated as key. You can
assign a unique value to this key for differentiating records that may have similar
names or addresses.
Look at the following example of student database:
Page 5
SESSION 1: APPRECIATE CONCEPT OF DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Relevant Knowledge
A database is an organized collection of data. You can visualize it as a container of
information.
The data is typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the
availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information
(for example, finding a hotel with facilities such as Laundry, GYM etc…).
Suppose if you own a stationary shop, you need to keep detailed records of the materials
available in your shop. You also need to store information about pricing, stock levels for
reordering, old stocks, etc. While in the manual system, you would maintain several files
with different bits of information; in the computerized system you would use database
programs such as Microsoft Access, OpenOffice.org Base, and MySQL, to organize the
data as per your business need.
The database concept has evolved since the 1960s to ease increasing difficulties in
designing, building, and maintaining complex information systems (typically with many
concurrent end-users, and with a large amount of diverse data).
In this lesson, you will learn database concepts and to work with a Database Management
System (DBMS).
Database Management System
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that
controls the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to
conveniently develop databases for various applications. A database is an integrated
collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user
application programs to concurrently access the same database.
Well known DBMSs include Oracle, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, FoxPro, and SQLite.
Data can be organized into two types:
• Flat File: Data is stored in a single table. Usually suitable for less amount of data.
• Relational: Data is stored in multiple tables and the tables are linked using a common
field. Relational is suitable for medium to large amount of data.
Database Servers
Database servers are dedicated computers that hold the actual databases and run only the
DBMS and related software. Typically databases available on the database servers are
accessed through command line or graphic user interface tools referred to as Frontends;
database servers are referred to as Back-ends. Such type of data access is referred to as a
client-server model.
Advantages of Database
? Reduces Data Redundancy
The database management systems contain multiple files that are to be stored in many
different locations in a system or even across multiple systems. Because of this, there
were sometimes multiple copies of the same file which lead to data redundancy.
This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is reflected
immediately. Because of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.
? Sharing of Data
In a database, the users of the database can share the data among themselves. There are
various levels of authorisation to access the data, and consequently the data can only be
shared based with the authorized users.
Many remote users can also access the database simultaneously and share the data
between themselves.
? Data Integrity
Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the database. Data Integrity
is very important as there are multiple databases in a DBMS. All of these databases
contain data that is visible to multiple users. So it is necessary to ensure that the data is
correct and consistent in all the databases and for all the users.
? Data Security
Data Security is an important concept in a database. Only authorised users should be
allowed to access the database and their identity should be authenticated using a username
and password. Unauthorised users should not be allowed to access the database under any
circumstances as it violates the integrity constraints.
? Privacy
The privacy rule in a database states that only the authorized users can access a database
according to its privacy constraints. To secure data levels are set in the database and a
user can only view the data which is allowed to be seen. For example - In social
networking sites, access constraints are different for different accounts a user may want
to access.
? Backup and Recovery
Database Management System automatically takes care of backup and recovery. The
users don't need to backup data periodically because this is taken care of by the DBMS.
Moreover, it also restores the database after a crash or system failure to its previous
condition.
? Data Consistency
Data consistency is ensured in a database because there is no data redundancy. Data
Consistency means there should be multiple mismatching copies of the same data. All
data appears consistently across the database and must be same for all the users viewing
the database. Moreover, any changes made to the database are immediately reflected to
all the users and there is no data inconsistency.
Features of Database
Let’s look at the example of your address book. What do you store in an address book?
You may have people’s name, address, phone number and maybe even their birthdays.
There is a common element here – people. In this example, each person is considered an
“ITEM”.
So, database will store information about that person. When you were recording
information in your address book, what did you ask the people? What is your address?
What is your phone number? etc. Each question that we ask about our ITEM is a “field”.
Now, say you make new friends and want to add their information to your address book.
You will ask questions, get the answers and create a new “record”. So, a record is a set
of information (made up of fields) stored in your database about one of the items. A
“value” is the actual text or numerical amount or date that you put in while adding
information to your database. When you put all the information together in a grid (like
you do in a spreadsheet), a collection of similar records creates a table.
There are some key features of a database:
1. A database can have one or many tables. An address book example is a very simple
one, in real world there are many more details involved. A big company would have
in its database, one table for its products, one table for its suppliers, one table for its
customer details, one for orders received and maybe many others.
2. Each table in a database contains information about one type of item. So, a database
is a container that holds tables and other objects and manages how they can be used.
3. Another very important thing to remember is that when we put in information, we may
have people with the same name (there can be more than one Charu Arora) or the same
address (members of a family). But when creating a database an important feature is
record uniqueness in every table. it is important to be able to distinguish between
different items having duplicate values.
Uniqueness helps to avoid accidental duplication of records caused by user or
computer error. This can be achieved by using some number or value that uniquely
identifies a record. If such a unique value does not exist in your fields, as the database
designer, you can create a special additional field in a table where unique numbers or
values can be assigned for each new entry. Therefore, every table has a key field which
ensures that there are 100% unique values throughout the database.
4. Every database table should have one or more fields designated as key. You can
assign a unique value to this key for differentiating records that may have similar
names or addresses.
Look at the following example of student database:
In this table, it will be extremely difficult to differentiate between student records as they
have names that are similar. To differentiate, you can add additional field - roll number -
that will be unique for each record (example below).
EXAMPLE OF RDBMS
You had used the example of an address book in the previous section. An address book
uses only one table. But look at a different situation. If you are a dealer selling a single
type of item and want to record details of your sales in the past month and also want the
details of the client who purchased the item ( name, address, phone, date purchased,
number of items bought etc), what would you do?.
You create a table Sales with all the details:
Do you see a problem here? Every time you sell an item to Sheela or Vaibhav or any other
customer (client) you need to store the details again. So, what is the solution? Create one
table for client details and another for sale details. Since each record has to be unique,
you can insert a ClientID field to uniquely identify each client in the client table. In the
Sales table, you would give a point of reference which “points” to a particular record in
the Client table.
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