Welcome to Review of

Data Fundamentals. After watching this video, you will be able to describe three
important data structures
with examples for each, identify common file formats for transferring data
between systems, describe relational and
non-relational databases. Data pervades every aspect
of our surroundings in the rapidly evolving
world of information and technology but how
do we define data? Data refers to
unorganized information that undergoes processing
to make it meaningful. It includes facts,
observations, perceptions, numbers, characters,
symbols, images, or a combination
of these elements. The structure of data
plays an important role in determining its
efficient management, storage, and analysis. Broadly, we can categorize
data into three main types, structured, unstructured,
and semi-structured. Let us learn about each
of these data structures. Structured data is highly organized and follows
a predefined format, typically arranged in tables
with rows and columns. It adheres to a
strict schema and a rigid structure ensuring consistency and easy retrieval.
Examples of structured data
include Excel spreadsheets, arrange data into
rows and columns, assigning each piece of data
a specific cell address. SQL databases that allow data to be stored in predefined
tables and columns, online forms collect
customer information by storing each piece of data; name, address, credit card
number in designated fields. In contrast, unstructured data lacks a specific format
or organization. It doesn't conform to any
predefined rules or sequences, making it challenging to process and analyze using
traditional methods. Examples of unstructured
data include text files contain
free-form text documents without a predefined structure. Media files include
images, audio, and video. Web pages, main content, such as text, images, and
multimedia is
often unstructured despite potentially structured
elements like HTML tags. Social media content
encompasses posts, tweets, and other updates
with mixed text, images, and links. The last category we will discuss is semi-
structured data. This type of data possesses some organizational
properties but does not adhere to a strict
tabular structure. It often employs
hierarchical structure or tags to organize information, providing a balance between
flexibility and structure. Examples of semi-structured
data include JSON files contain
arrays and objects using specific tags or keys to mark different
data elements. XML documents define
data structure using tags, attributes,
and schema. Emails have structured
fields; to, from, subject but
unstructured message bodies. Businesses today access a wealth of data from various
sources, including traditional
databases, flat files, and XML data sets, web scraping, data streams, and feeds,
social
media platforms, IoT devices with sensors. We can hold or transfer data between
systems in many
different file formats. Common file formats include
delimited text files, spreadsheets, language
files. Delimited text files. In these files, data resides in rows with each
variable separated by a
specific character, like a comma or a tab. Delimited files comprise
comma-separated variable, CSV, and tab-separated
variable, TSV, files. Spreadsheets. In these files, data exists in rows and
columns, the same as a
table, facilitating easy access and manipulation. A spreadsheet helps to create
CSV files. Language files. Language files like extensible
markup language (XML) and JavaScript Object Notation, (JSON), have set rules and
structures for encoding data
to send over the internet. After collecting your data, where's the best
place to store it? Data repositories
actively store, manage, and organize data in
a centralized manner, offering a structured
framework for efficient retrieval
and administration. Two major categories of
data repositories are relational databases and
non-relational databases. Relational databases consist of structured data stored
in related tables. The links between
the tables minimize data duplication while preserving intricate
relationships. These databases and
their supporting systems are collectively known as Relational Database
Management Systems, RDBMS. Prominent examples
include IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server,
Oracle, and MySQL. Let us look at the scope
of relational databases. Relational databases are
primarily OLTP systems used to support
day-to-day business activities such as
customer transactions, human resource activities,
and workflows. They help in storing a high
volume of day-to-day operational data that
many businesses rely on. Their normalized
structure ensures transactional
integrity and supports concurrent access for
routine operations. OLAP systems include
various storage solutions, like relational and
non-relational databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and big data stores. The
system focuses on
querying and analyzing large datasets to extract
meaningful insights. For example, organizations can
leverage data sourced from a customer relationship
management CRM system for insightful analytics, such as generating
sales projections. Now that you know about
relational databases, let us explore
non-relational databases. They offer flexibility in handling diverse and
unstructured data. MongoDB, Cassandra, and Redis represent
this category. MongoDB is a document-oriented
database suitable for storing and managing
semi-structured or unstructured data. In conclusion, data's varied
types and structures demand appropriate storage
solutions with relational databases
serving OLTP needs, OLAP systems enabling
complex analytics, and non-relational
databases providing flexibility for diverse data. In this video, you learned
that data includes facts, observations, numbers,
symbols, images, or a mix. Efficient data management
relies on structured, unstructured, and
semi-structured categories. Data repositories, including relational and
non-relational databases store and manage data centrally. Relational databases
consist
of structured data in related tables used
primarily for OLTP. OLAP systems focus
on querying and analyzing large datasets
for meaningful insights.