The Database Administrator
The Database Administrator
ADMINISTRATOR
> Set of data held in computer.
> A person who manages the administration.
FUNCTIONS OF DATABASE
ADMINISTRATOR
Database Planning:Implementation:Design:Operation and
Maintenance:Change and Growth:
The Data Dictionary
Another important function of the DBA is the creation and maintenance of the data
dictionary. The data dictionary describes every data element in the database. This
enables all users to share a common view of the data resource. The data dictionary may
be in both paper form and online. Most DBMSs employ special software for managing the
data dictionary.
Organizational Interactions of the
database Administrator
Typical File Processing Operations
1. Retrieve a record from the file based on its primary key value.
2. Insert a record into a file.
3. Update a record in the file.
4. Read a complete file of records.
5. Find the next record in a file.
6. Scan a file for records with common secondary keys.
7. Delete a record from a file.
Data Structures
Data structures are the bricks and mortar of the database. The
data structure allows records to be located, stored, and retrieved,
and enables movement from one record to another.
Data structures have two fundamental components: organization and access
method.
Data Organization
The organization of a file refers to the way records are physically arranged on
the secondary storage device.
Entity.
An entity is a database representation of an individual
resource, event, or agent about which we choose to
collect data.
The relational model portrays data in the form of two-dimensional tables. Figure 4.13 presents an example of
a database table called Customer. Across the top of the table are attributes (data fields) forming columns.
Intersecting the columns to form rows in the table are tuples. A tuple is a normalized array of data that is
similar, but not precisely equivalent, to a record in a flat-file system. Properly designed tables possess the
following four characteristics:
1. All occurrences at the intersection of a row and a column are a single value. No multiple values are
allowed.
2. The attribute values in any column must all be of the same class.
3. Each column in a given table must be uniquely named. However, different tables may contain columns
with the same name.
4. Each row in the table must be unique in at least one attribute. This attribute is the primary key.