An Introduction to Database Management

• Database management system consists of two parts:

1. Database
2. Management Systems
• We have to know what is the definition of the data first, before we find out what is the
database:
1. Data, in simple words, data can be facts related to any object in consideration. For
example, your name, age, height, weight, etc. also a picture, image, file, pdf, etc. can
also be considered data.
2. Record, is a collection of related data elements in a database.
• Database
Is an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically
in a computer system, or in the simple words, database is collection of related relations.
They can be called a “related collection” because we can clearly find out that there are
some common attributes existing in a selected pair of tables. In a database, data is organized
strictly in row and column format. The rows are called Tuple or Record. The data items
within one row may belong to different data types. On the other hand, the columns are
often called Domain or Attribute. All the data items within a single attribute are of the same
data type.
• Management System
In simple word management system is how organizations ensure things get done. A
database-management system (DBMS) is a collection of interrelated data and a set of
programs to access those data. The collection of data, usually referred to as the database,
contains information relevant to an enterprise. The primary goal of a DBMS is to provide
a way to store and retrieve database information that is both convenient and efficient. The
management system is important because without the existence of some kind of rules and
regulations it is not possible to maintain the database.
• Database-Management System
A Database management system is a computerized record-keeping system. It is a repository
or a container for collection of computerized data files. The overall purpose of DBMS is
to allow the users to define, store, retrieve and update the information contained in the
database on demand. Information can be anything that is of significance to an individual
or organization.
• Major areas of application Database-Management System
1. Banking
Ex; For customer information, accounts, loans, and banking transactions
2. Airlines
Ex; For reservations and schedule information. Airlines were among the first to use
databases in a geographically distributed manner.
3. Universities
Ex; For student information, course registrations, and grades.
4. Manufacturing and Selling Information
 Ex; For manufacturing; management of the supply chain and for tracking production
of items in factories, inventories of items in warehouses and stores, and orders for
items. And for sales; data noted above plus online order tracking, generation of
recommendation lists, and maintenance of online product evaluations.
5. Human Resources
Ex; For information about employees, salaries, payroll taxes, and benefits, and for
generation of paychecks.
• Purpose of Database System
Database systems are designed to manage large bodies of information. Management of data
involves both defining structures for storage of information and providing mechanisms for the
manipulation of information. In addition, the database system must ensure the safety of the
information stored, despite system crashes or attempts at unauthorized access. If data are to be
shared among several users, the system must avoid possible anomalous results.
• File processing system has a number of major disadvantages:
1. Data redundancy and inconsistency
Since different programmers create the files and application programs over a long
period, the various files are likely to have different structures and the programs may be
written in several programming languages. Moreover, the same information may be
duplicated in several places (files).
2. Difficulty in accessing data
The point here is that conventional file-processing environments do not allow needed
data to be retrieved in a convenient and efficient manner. More responsive data-
retrieval systems are required for general use.
3. Integrity problems
Integrity constraints are a set of rules. It is used to maintain the quality of information.
Integrity constraints ensure that the data insertion, updating, and other processes have
to be performed in such a way that data integrity is not affected. Thus, integrity
constraint is used to guard against accidental damage to the database.
4. Atomicity problems
Is computer system, like any other device, is subject to failure. In many applications, it
is crucial that, if a failure occurs, the data be restored to the consistent state that existed
prior to the failure. It is difficult to ensure atomicity in a conventional file-processing
system.
5. Concurrent-access anomalies
For the sake of overall performance of the system and faster response, many systems
allow multiple users to update the data simultaneously. Indeed, today, the largest
Internet retailers may have millions of accesses per day to their data by shoppers. In
such an environment, interaction of concurrent updates is possible and may result in
inconsistent data. Concurrent access to data means more than one user is accessing
the same data at the same time. Anomalies occur when changes made by one user
gets lost because of changes made by others user.
6. Security problems
 Database security encompasses a range of security controls designed to protect the
Database Management System (DBMS). The types of database security measures your
business should use include protecting the underlying infrastructure that houses the
database such as the network and servers), securely configuring the DBMS, and the
access to the data itself. Not every user of the database system should be able to access
all the data, these difficulties, among others, prompted the development of database
systems. In what follows, we shall see the concepts and algorithms that enable database
systems to solve the problems with file-processing systems.
• Advantages of DBMS
1. Controlling of Redundancy:
Data redundancy refers to the duplication of data (i.e., storing same data multiple
times). In a database system, by having a centralized database and centralized control
of data by the DBA the unnecessary duplication of data is avoided. It also eliminates
the extra time for processing the large volume of data. It results in saving the storage
space.
2. Improved Data Sharing:
DBMS allows a user to share the data in any number of application programs.
3. Data Integrity:
Integrity means that the data in the database is accurate. Centralized control of the data
helps in permitting the administrator to define integrity constraints to the data in the
database.
4. Security:
Having complete authority over the operational data, enables the DBA in ensuring that
the only mean of access to the database is through proper channels. The DBA can define
authorization checks to be carried out whenever access to sensitive data is attempted.
5. Data Consistency:
By eliminating data redundancy, we greatly reduce the opportunities for inconsistency.
6. Efficient Data Access:
In a database system, the data is managed by the DBMS and all access to the data is
through the DBMS providing a key to effective data processing.
7. Enforcements of Standards:
With the centralized of data, DBA can establish and enforce the data standards which
may include the naming conventions, data quality standards etc.
8. Data Independence: In a database system, the database management system provides
the interface between the application programs and the data. When changes are made
to the data representation, the meta data obtained by the DBMS is changed but the
DBMS is continues to provide the data to application program in the previously used
way.
9. Reduced Application Development and Maintenance Time:
DBMS supports many important functions that are common to many applications,
accessing data stored in the DBMS, which facilitates the quick development of
application.
• Disadvantages of DBMS:
1. It is bit complex. Since it supports multiple functionalities to give the user the best, the
underlying software has become complex. The designers and developers should have
thorough knowledge about the software to get the most out of it.
2. Because of its complexity and functionality, it uses large amount of memory. It also
needs large memory to run efficiently.
3. DBMS system works on the centralized system, i.e.; all the users from all over the
world access this database. Hence any failure of the DBMS, will impact all the users.
4. DBMS is generalized software, i.e.; it is written work on the entire systems rather
specific one. Hence some of the application will run slow.