Chapter One:

Introduction

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 Chapter Objectives
• To understand the nature and characteristics of
databases
• To survey some important and interesting database
applications
• To gain a general understanding of tables and
relationships
• To describe the components of a Microsoft Access
database system and explain the functions they perform
• To describe the components of an enterprise-class
database system and explain the functions they perform
• To define the term database management system
(DBMS) and describe the functions of a DBMS
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 Chapter Objectives
• To define the term database and describe what is
contained within the database
• To define the term metadata and provide examples of
metadata
• To define and understand database design from existing
data
• To define and understand database design as new
systems development
• To define and understand database design in database
redesign
• To understand the history and development of database
processing
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 The Characteristics of Databases
• The purpose of a database is to help people
track things of interest to them.
• Data is stored in tables, which have rows and
columns like a spreadsheet. A database may
have multiple tables, where each table stores
data about a different thing.
• Each row in a table stores data about an
occurrence or instance of the thing of interest.
• A database stores data and relationships.

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Data in Tables

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 The Key Characteristic of
Databases: Related Tables

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 Naming Conventions in this
Textbook
• Table names are written with all capital
letters:
– STUDENT, CLASS, GRADE
• Column names are written with an initial
capital letter, and compound names are
written with a capital letter on each word:
– Term, Section, ClassNumber, StudentName

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 Databases Create Information
• Data = recorded facts and figures
• Information = knowledge derived from
data
• Databases record data, but they do so in
such a way that we can produce
information from the data.
– The data on STUDENTs, CLASSes, and
GRADEs could produce information about
each student’s GPA.

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Database Examples

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Components of a Database System

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Components of a Database System
with SQL

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 Applications, the DBMS, and SQL
• Applications are the computer programs
that users work with.
• The Database Management System
(DBMS) creates, processes, and
administers databases.
• Structured Query Language (SQL) is an
internationally recognized standard
database language that is used by all
commercial DBMSs.
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Database Applications

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Database Applications—Forms

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Database Applications—Queries

SELECT LastName, FirstName, EmailAddress

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Database—Reports

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The DBMS

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 The Database
• A database is a self-describing collection
of integrated tables.
• The tables are called integrated because
they store data about the relationships
between the rows of data.
• A database is called self-describing
because it stores a description of itself.
• The self-describing data is called
metadata, which is data about data.
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Typical Metadata Tables

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Database Contents

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Personal Database Systems:
Microsoft Access

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 Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Access is a low-end product intended
for individual users and small workgroups.
• Microsoft Access tries to hide much of the
underlying database technology from the user.
• A good strategy for beginners, but not for
database professionals.
• NOTE: Microsoft Access 2007 is discussed in
detail in Appendix A.

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 What Is Microsoft Access?
• Microsoft Access is a DBMS plus an
application generator:
– DBMS creates, processes, and administers Microsoft
Access databases.
– The application generator includes query, form, and
report components.
• The Microsoft Access DBMS engine is called
Jet, which is not sold as a separate product.
• Microsoft Access 2000 and later can be used as
an application generator for the Microsoft SQL
Server DBMS.
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Enterprise-Class Database
Systems

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 Prominent DBMS Products
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008
– New:
Microsoft SQL Server 2998 Express
• Oracle Corporation Oracle Database 11g
• MySQL 5.1
• IBM DB2

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DBMS Power vs. Ease of Use

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Three Types of Database Design

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Database Design from Existing Data

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Data Import: One or Two Tables?
This is an important
decision, and based
on a set of rules
known as
normalization (which
is covered in Chapter
Three).

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 Database Design from New
Systems Development

Entity-Relationship data modeling is covered in Chapter Five, and data model

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 Database Design from Database
Redesign
Database redesign is
covered in Chapter
Eight, after coverage of
SQL in Chapter Seven.

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What You Need To Learn

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Knowledge Priorities

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A Brief History of
Database
Processing

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The Relational Database Model
• The dominant database model is the
relational database model—all current
major DBMS products are based on it.
• It was created by IBM engineer E. F.
Codd in 1970.
• It was based on mathematics called
relational algebra.
• This text examines and explains the
relational database model.
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