Databases and Database Users

406.426 Design & Analysis of Database Systems

Jonghun Park
[email protected]
Dept. of Industrial Engineering
Seoul National University
outline

types of databases and database applications

basic definitions

typical DBMS functionality

example of a database (UNIVERSITY)

main characteristics of the database approach

database users

advantages of using the database approach

when not to use databases

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types of databases and database applications

traditional databases: numeric and textual databases

multimedia databases

geographic Information Systems (GIS)

data warehouses

online analytical processing (OLAP)

real-time and active databases

web databases

…

databases are everywhere

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basic definitions

data: known facts that can be recorded and have implicit meaning

database (DB): a collection of related data

implicit properties of a DB

represents some aspect of the real world: miniworld, UoD

is a logically coherent collection of data with some inherent meaning

is designed, built, and populated with data for a specific purpose

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basic definitions

database management system (DBMS)

a collection of programs that enables users to create and maintain a
database

a general-purpose software system that facilitates the processes of
defining, constructing, manipulating, protecting, maintaining, and
sharing databases among various users and applications

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basic definitions

database system: database + DBMS

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example of a DB

mini-world for the example:

part of a UNIVERSITY environment

some mini-world entities:

STUDENTs

COURSEs

SECTIONs (of COURSEs)

(academic) DEPARTMENTs

INSTRUCTORs

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example of a DB

Some mini-world relationships:

SECTIONs are of specific COURSEs

STUDENTs take SECTIONs

COURSEs have prerequisite COURSEs

INSTRUCTORs teach SECTIONs

COURSEs are offered by DEPARTMENTs

STUDENTs major in DEPARTMENTs

the above entities and relationships are typically expressed in a
conceptual data model, such as the ENTITY-RELATIONSHIP
data model (Chapters 3, 4)

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example of a simple database
define
construct
manipulate
…

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characteristics of the DB approach

traditional file processing

each user defines and implements the files needed for a specific
software application as part of programming the application

each user maintains separate files and programs

DB approach

a single repository of data is maintained that is defined once and then
is accessed by various users

main characteristics of the DB approach

self-describing nature of a database system

insulation between programs and data, and data abstraction

support of multiple views of the data

sharing of data and multi-user transaction processing

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self-describing nature of a database system

catalog (aka metadata)

contains information such as the structure of each file, the type and
storage format of each data item, and various constraints on the data

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insulation between programs and data

in traditional file processing, the structure of data files is embedded
in the application programs

need for program-data independence, program-operation
independence

data abstraction: the characteristic that allows the independence

conceptual representation of data

does not include many of the details of how the data is stored or how
the operations are implemented

data model

a type of data abstraction that is used to provide the conceptual
representation

hides the storage and implementation details

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support of multiple views of the data

view

may be a subset of the DB or may contain virtual data that is derived
from the database files but is not explicitly stored

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sharing of data and multi-user TP

a multi-user DBMS must allow multiple users to access the DB at
the same time

concurrency control

to ensure that several users trying to update the same data do so in a
controlled manner so that the result of the update is correct

example from an OLTP application: concurrent requests for airline
reservation

transaction

an executing program or process that includes one or more database
accesses, such as reading or updating of database records

ACID properties

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DB users

database administrators:

responsible for authorizing access to the database, for coordinating and
monitoring its use, acquiring software, and hardware resources, controlling
its use and monitoring efficiency of operations

database designers:

responsible for identifying the data to be stored in the DB and for choosing
appropriate structures to represent and store the data

interact with each potential group of users and develop views of the database
that meet the data and processing requirements of these groups

end-users

use the data for queries, reports and some of them actually update the database
content

software analysts

determine the requirements of end users, especially naïve and parametric end
users, and develop specifications for canned transactions that meet these
requirements

application programmers

implements the specifications as programs
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categories of end-users

casual: access database occasionally when needed

naïve or parametric:

make up a large portion of the end-user population

use standard types of queries and updates in the form of “canned
transactions” against the database

examples: bank-tellers

sophisticated:

include business analysts, scientists, engineers, others

implement their applications to meet their complex requirements

stand-alone:

maintain personal databases using ready-to-use packaged applications

example: a tax program user

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workers behind the scene

typically do not use the DB for their own purposes

DBMS system designers and implementers

design and implement the DBMS modules and interfaces as a software
package

tool developers

design and implement the software packages that facilitate database
system design and use and that help improve performance

e.g., DB design, performance monitoring, graphical interfaces,…

operators and maintenance personnel

responsible for the actual running and maintenance of the hardware and
software environment for the DB system

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advantages of using the database approach

controlling redundancy

restricting unauthorized access: security, authorization

providing persistent storage for program objects

providing storage structures for efficient query processing: indexes,
tree data structures, hash structures

providing backup and recovery

providing multiple user interfaces: query languages, APIs, forms,
menu-driven interfaces, NL interfaces, GUIs, Web…

representing and managing complex relationships among data

enforcing integrity constraints that hold for the data

permitting inference and actions using rules: deductive database,
active database (event-driven)

additional implications

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controlling redundancy

the problems with the redundancy in storing the same data
multiple times

the need to perform a single logical update multiple times

waste of storage space

inconsistency

ideally we should have a DB design that stores each logical data item
in only one place in the DB

“controlled” redundancy in the DB approach

for improving the performance of queries

however, DBMS should have the capability to control the redundancy

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example of controlled redundancy

redundant storage of StudentName and CourseNumber

an example of inconsistent record

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additional implications

potential for enforcing standards

reduced application development time

flexibility to change data structures

availability of up-to-date information

economies of scale

reduces the amount of wasteful overlap between activities of data
processing personnel in different departments

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historical development of DB technology

early database Applications:

hierarchical and network models were introduced in mid 1960’s and dominated
during the seventies

quite difficult to reorganize the DB when changes were made to the
requirements of the application

a bulk of the worldwide database processing still occurs using these models

hierarchical model

implemented in a joint effort by IBM and North American Rockwell around
1965

resulted in the IMS family of systems

the most popular model

network model

the first one to be implemented by Honeywell in 1964-65 (IDS System)

adopted heavily due to the support by CODASYL (CODASYL - DBTG report
of 1971)

later implemented in a large variety of systems - IDMS (Cullinet - now CA),
DMS 1100 (Unisys), IMAGE (H.P.), VAX -DBMS (Digital Equipment Corp.)

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historical development of DB technology

relational model based systems

the model that was originally introduced in 1970 by E.F. Codd (IBM)
was heavily researched and experimented within IBM and the
universities

relational DBMS products emerged in the 1980’s

originally proposed to separate the physical storage of data from its
conceptual representation and to provide a mathematical foundation
for DBs

introduced high-level query languages

now in several commercial products (DB2, ORACLE, SQL Server,
SYBASE, INFORMIX)

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historical development of DB technology

object-oriented applications

OODBMSs were introduced in late 1980’s and early 1990’s to cater to
the need of complex data processing in CAD and other applications

the complexity of the model and the lack of an early standard
contributed to their limited use

one set comprises models of persistent O-O Programming Languages
such as C++ (e.g., in OBJECTSTORE or VERSANT), and Smalltalk
(e.g., in GEMSTONE)

additionally, systems like O2, ORION (at MCC - then ITASCA), IRIS
(at HP- used in Open OODB)

object-relational models

started with Informix Universal Server

exemplified in the latest versions of Oracle-11g, DB2, and SQL Server
etc. systems

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historical development of DB technology

interchanging data on the web

web contains data in HTML with links among pages

XML is considered to be the primary standard for interchanging data
among various types of DBs and Web pages

XML DBs

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extending database capabilities

new functionality is being added to DBMSs in the following areas:

scientific applicationswith large amounts of data storage

image storage and retrieval

audio and video data management

data mining applications

spatial data management applications such as GIS

time series and historical data management

the relational systems were not very suitable for these

the above gives rise to new R & D in incorporating new data types,
complex data structures, new operations, and storage and indexing
schemes in database systems

e.g., VLDB conference

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when not to use a DBMS

main inhibitors of using a DBMS

high initial investment in hardware, software, and training

the generality that a DBMS provides for defining and processing data

overhead for providing security, concurrency control, recovery, and
integrity functions

when a DBMS may be unnecessary:

if the database and applications are simple, well defined, and not
expected to change

if there are stringent real-time requirements that may not be met
because of DBMS overhead

if access to data by multiple users is not required

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databases vs. information retrieval

database technology

applies to structured and formatted data that arises in routine
applications in government, business, and industry

heavily used in manufacturing, retail, banking, insurance, finance, and
health care industries

information retrieval (IR) technology

deals with books, manuscripts, and various forms of library-based
articles

concerned with searching for material based on the keywords, and
also with the problems dealing with document processing, automatic
text categorization, and so on

web IR

billions of web pages containing images, text, and dynamic objects

needs IR + DB approaches

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Oracle

#1 DBMS company in the world

#2 biggest software company in the world

expensive and requires high maintenance cost charges

why Oracle?

DBs (almost) never shrink

DBs contain mission critical information

etc.

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