Databases

Databases are very powerful tools used in all areas of computing. It is a

key computing skill to be able to organise data, create databases and
control data using query languages.

One of the main benefits of computer databases is that they make it easy
to store information, so its quick and easy to find.

Databases are also used to store data about weather patterns - which can
then be used with software models to predict future events. Even data
from internet search terms can be useful. For example, the Google
Analytics database helped to successfully predict flu outbreaks around
the world.

Databases can be created and organised using programming languages.

Languages like SQL, Visual Basic and Delphi are used to edit databases.

Flat-file databases

A flat-file database is a database of just one table. It can be created in

database software or in a spreadsheet and is often saved as a CSV file. A flat file is
useful because it is highly compatible between databases and other applications.

Examples of flat-file databases

Flat-file databases could be used for a number of things, eg:

 usernames and passwords

 contact details

 product details

 game or music collections

 entities and attributes

Entities

When you build a database you are organising data about entities.
An entity is any item that has its attributes stored as data. An entity
could be anything, eg a book, a person, a film, a country or a football
team.

Attributes

The details about entities are called attributes. A person is an entity

with attributes including age, height and nationality, among many
others. When you design a database you need to think about which
attributes you want to store. For example, the attributes of a film
could include title, duration, certificate, rating, genre, cast, director
and year of creation.

Database structure

A database is organised using a set of key components. These include:

 entities - each recorded item

 attributes - details about the entity

 field - columns used to capture attributes

 record - one row of details about an entity

 table - a set of fields and records

 primary key - unique number for an entity

This is an example table of a flat-file database. The entities are films and
the attributes are details about the films:

Table

The table contains all of the fields and the records for one type of entity. A database
may contain more than one table.

Records

Records contain a collection of data for each entity, usually recorded as a row in the
table.

Fields
The column headings are called the fields. Each field contains a different attribute.
For every entity, a unit of data will be entered into each field. Each column might
require different data types. For example, the 'Title' column will require data entered
as text and the 'Certificate' column will need data entered as numbers.

Unit of data

Each individual piece of data entered is a unit of data. These units are also called
data elements.

The primary key contains a unique identifier for each record. To make each record in
a database unique we normally assign them a primary key. Even if a record is
deleted from a database, the primary key will not be used again. The primary key
can be automatically generated and will normally just be a unique number or mix of
numbers and letters.

Data types

The actual units of data that are entered into a database give the attributes for
each entity. These units of data are also called data elements.

When you create a database you need to set data types for each field. For example,
in a film database you might need alphabetical characters for 'Titles', but numbers for
'Duration'. Fields are usually restricted to a certain data type.

Data typing is a way of classifying data values that have common properties.
Different kinds of data values also need different amounts of memory to store them,
and have different operations that can be performed upon them.

Common data types

The most commonly-supported data types are:

 integers (whole numbers), for example: 4, 27, 65535

 floating point numbers (with decimal points, sometimes called real numbers,
or floats), for example: 4.2, 27.4, 56.8

 characters, for example: a, F, 3, $, £, #

 character strings (ordered sequences of characters), for example: abc,

def456, 3erf78!@

 Boolean values, for example: 'True' or 'False'

SQL data typing

Data type Explanation

char(size) Fixed-length character string. Size is specified in brackets.

varchar(si Variable-length character string. Maximum size is specified

ze) in brackets.

integer(siz Number value with a maximum number of column digits

e) specified in brackets.

date Date value

Number value with a maximum number of digits of 'size'

float(size,
total, with a maximum number of 'd' digits to the right of the
d)
decimal.

Boolean True/False values.

Data structure

The structure of the database is also called the schema or dictionary. When you
design a database you need to create a schema to explain what type of data is being
stored. There are key areas to consider about the data:

 data type - the data types are used in each field

 field size - the maximum or minimum size of entry

  validation - the rules for accepting data

 key field - the field which is the primary key

Field name Data type Size in bytes Primary key?

Film ID Integer 2 Yes

Title Text 20 No

Certificate Integer 2 No

Genre Text 20 No

Database integrity

Validation - checks that the correct type of data is entered.

Verification – checks that the data is actually the data you want.

Database fields should have validation rules to make sure the data entered follows
the expected format.

There are different types of validation checks a database can run:

Validation
How it works Example
type

Check The last couple of digits Bar code readers in shops

Validation
How it works Example
type

can be used as a 'check

digit sum' that can detect if
errors have occurred

Numbers in currency cell must

Type Checks the data is in the
be a monetary value with two
check right format
decimal points

A PIN for online banking needs

Length Checks the data is an
to be four (or six) characters
check acceptable length
long

Checks that the value

Lookup A limited set of values, such as
provided matches an item
table the seven days of the week
in a set list

Presence Checks that data has been In most databases a key field
check entered into a field cannot be left blank

An online gift certificate

Range Checks that a value falls purchase must be more than or
check within the specified range equal to £5 but less than or
equal to £50

A search engine often

Spell Looks up words in a
recommends a correct spelling
check dictionary
if a word is spelt wrong

Checks that data has been National insurance numbers

Input entered with the correct need to be in the format: YY XX
mask amount of characters and/or XX XX Y, where Y = letter and X
numbers = number

Checks that a value has not A primary key value can only be
Duplicate
been repeated entered once

Concurrency and ACID

Concurrency is when many users are interacting with a system or many changes are
being made at once.

A DBMS needs to use concurrency. However, the database needs to prevent two
people using the data in a conflicting way. For example, two people visiting an online
shop might try to buy the final product in store. The database would need to make
sure only one person could buy it.

ACID rules

A change in a database is called a transaction. Changes to databases must conform

to ACID rules:

 Atomicity - the transaction must be completed fully. If it is not completed fully it

will not be recorded.

 Consistency - any change must not break the database. It must be consistent
with how it was before the change.

 Isolation - a transaction must be isolated and not interfere with another

transaction.

 Durability - a transaction must remain in the database