by Neil A.

Basabe
In this chapter, you will learn:

• The difference between data and information

• What a database is, the various types of databases,
and why they are valuable assets for decision
making
• The importance of database design
• How modern databases evolved from file systems
• About flaws in file system data management
• The main components of the database system
• The main functions of a database management
system (DBMS)
• Databases solve many of the problems
encountered in data management
• Used in almost all modern settings involving
data management:
• Business
• Research
• Administration
• Important to understand how databases work
and interact with other applications
1. Purchases from the supermarket
2. Purchases using your credit card
3. Booking a holiday at the travel agents
4. Using the local library
5. Taking out insurance
6. Renting a video
7. Using the Internet
8. Studying at university
• Data are raw facts
• Information is the result of processing raw data to reveal
meaning
• Information requires context to reveal meaning
• Raw data must be formatted for storage, processing, and
presentation
• Data are the foundation of information, which is the bedrock of
knowledge
• Data: building blocks of information
• Information produced by processing data
• Information used to reveal meaning in data
• Accurate, relevant, timely information is the key to good decision
making
• Good decision making is the key to organizational survival
File-based system - A collection of application programs
that perform services for the end-users such as the
production of reports. Each program defines and manages
its own data.
1. Separation and isolation of data
2. Duplication of data
3. Data dependence
4. Incompatible file formats
5. Fixed queries/proliferation of application programs

All the above limitations of the file-based approach can

be attributed to two factors:

(1) the definition of the data is embedded in the application

programs, rather than being stored separately and
independently;
(2) there is no control over the access and manipulation of
data beyond that imposed by the application programs.
o Structural dependence: access to a file is
dependent on its own structure
oAll file system programs must be modified
to conform to a new file structure
o Structural independence: change file
structure without affecting data access
o Data dependence: data access changes when
data storage characteristics change
o Data independence: data storage
characteristics do not affect data access
o Practical significance of data dependence is
difference between logical and physical
format
o Logical data format: how human views the
data
o Physical data format: how computer must
work with data
o Each program must contain:
◦ Lines specifying opening of specific file type
◦ Record specification
◦ Field definitions
o Filesystem structure makes it difficult to
combine data from multiple sources
oVulnerable to security breaches
o Organizational structure promotes storage of
same data in different locations
oIslands of information
o Data stored in different locations is unlikely
to be updated consistently
o Data redundancy: same data stored
unnecessarily in different places
o Data inconsistency: different and conflicting
versions of same data occur at different
places
o Data anomalies: abnormalities when all
changes in redundant data are not made
correctly
◦ Update anomalies
◦ Insertion anomalies
◦ Deletion anomalies
o Most users lack the skill to properly design
databases, despite multiple personal
productivity tools being available
o Data-modeling skills are vital in the data
design process
o Good data modeling facilitates
communication between the designer, user,
and the developer
o A shared collection of logically related data, and a description of this
data, designed to meet the information needs of an organization.
◦ End-user data: raw facts of interest to end user
◦ Metadata: data about data
Provides description of data characteristics and relationships in
data
Complements and expands value of data

o A software system that enables users to define, create,

maintain, and control
access to the database.
The DBMS is the software that interacts with the users’
application programs and the database.
1. It allows users to define the database, usually
through a Data Definition Language (DDL). The DDL
allows users to specify the data types and structures
and the constraints
on the data to be stored in the database.

2. It allows users to insert, update, delete, and retrieve

data from the database, usually through a Data
Manipulation Language (DML). Having a central
repository for all data and data descriptions allows
the DML to provide a general inquiry facility to this
data, called a query language.

3. It provides controlled access to the database.

A DBMS provides another facility known as a view
mechanism, which allows each user to have his or her
own view of the database (a view is in essence some
subset of the database).

As well as reducing complexity by letting users see the

data in the way they want to see it, views have several
other benefits:

1. Views provide a level of security.

2. Views provide a mechanism to customize the
appearance of the database.
3. A view can present a consistent, unchanging picture
of the structure of the database, even if the
underlying database is changed.
1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Data
The structure of the database is called the
schema.
4. Procedures
5. People
1. Data dictionary management
2. Data storage management
3. Data transformation and presentation
4. Security management
5. Multiuser access control
6. Backup and recovery management
7. Data integrity management
8. Database access languages and application
programming interfaces
9. Database communication interfaces
1. Data and Database Administrator

Data Administrator (DA) – is responsible for the

management of the data resource including database
planning, development and maintenance of standards,
policies and procedures, and conceptual/logical database
design. The DA consults with and advises senior
managers, ensuring that the direction of database
development will ultimately support corporate objectives.

Database Administrator (DBA) - is responsible for the

physical realization of the database, including physical
database design and implementation, security and
integrity control, maintenance of the operational system,
and ensuring satisfactory performance of the applications
for users. The role of the DBA is more technically oriented
than the role of the DA, requiring detailed knowledge of
the target DBMS and the system environment.
2. Database designer

Logical database designer - is concerned with identifying the

data (that is, the entities and attributes), the relationships
between the data, and the constraints on the data that is
to be stored in the database. The logical database
designer must have a thorough and complete
understanding of the organization’s data and any
constraints on this data (the constraints are sometimes
called business rules).

Physical database designer - decides how the logical

database design is to be physically realized. This involves:
ü mapping the logical database design into a set of tables
and integrity constraints;
ü selecting specific storage structures and access methods
for the data to achieve good performance;
ü designing any security measures required on the data.
3. Application Developers
Once the database has been implemented, the
application programs that provide the
required functionality for the end-users must be
implemented. This is the responsibility of
the application developers.

4. End-Users
The end-users are the ‘clients’ for the database, which
has been designed and implemented, and is being
maintained to serve their information needs.

Naïve users - are typically unaware of the DBMS. They

access the database through specially written application
programs that attempt to make the operations as simple
as possible.
Sophisticated users – is familiar with the structure of the
database and the facilities offered by the DBMS.
Sophisticated end-users may use a high-level query
language such as SQL to perform the required operations.
• The roots of the DBMS lie in file-based systems.
• The hierarchical and CODASYL systems represent the
• first-generation of DBMSs.
• The hierarchical model is typified by IMS (Information
Management System) and the network or CODASYL model
by IDS (Integrated Data Store), both developed in the mid-
1960s.
• The relational model, proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970,
represents the second-generation of DBMSs. It has
• had a fundamental effect on the DBMS community and
there are now over one hundred relational DBMSs.
• The third-generation of DBMSs are represented by the
Object-Relational DBMS and the Object-Oriented
• DBMS.
o Databases can be classified according to:
oNumber of users
oDatabase location(s)
oExpected type and extent of use
o Single-user database supports only one user
at a time
oDesktop database: single-user; runs on PC
o Multiuser database supports multiple users at
the same time
oWorkgroup and enterprise databases
o Centralized database: data located at a single
site
o Distributed database: data distributed across
several different sites
o Operational database: supports a company’s
day-to-day operations
oTransactional or production database
o Data warehouse: stores data used for tactical
or strategic decisions
o Unstructured data exist in their original state
o Structured data result from formatting
oStructure applied based on type of
processing to be performed
o Semistructured data have been processed to
some extent
o Extensible Markup Language (XML)
represents data elements in textual format
oXML database supports semistructured XML
data
o Database design focuses on design of
database structure used for end-user data
oDesigner must identify database’s expected
use
o Well-designed database:
oFacilitates data management
oGenerates accurate and valuable
information
o Poorly designed database:
oCauses difficult-to-trace errors
1. Coronel, C., & Morris, S. (2019). Database systems: design, implementation, and management. Boston: Cengage.
2. Connolly, T. M., & Begg, C. E. (2015). Database systems: A practical approach to design, implementation, and
management (Fourth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.