DatabaseTypes of database programsCharles w. BachmanWell- Designed DatabasesDatabase Management SystemsTypes of database programsDaabase Techniques summarize as you to help you

summarize technique for using databases effectivelBrowsing Data Sorying Data

Database Basics

What Is a Database? What do the following things have in common: an

address book, a telephone directory, a list of family birthdays, and a catalog of DVDs? For one thing, each can be stored in a database, or an organized collection of information. Databases can exist on paper or on a computer. Computerized databases can be huge, containing

8–2  Types of Database Programs Lesson Review For more review questions, click the

Lesson Review icon. Then, print and complete the worksheet

database management system (DBMS) flat-file database sort relational database key field object-oriented database

I received my first computer when I was in the army in 1943. Since then, I would never have dreamed where the industry would go. I believe that databases . . . will always be there because we need to maintain our inventory of information. I also believe that data communications is essential in tying the people of the world together.”

Charles W. Bachman Database Developer Called “the father of database management,” Charles W.

Bachman is known for his work with database technology in the early 1960s. While working at General Electric, he developed the Integrated Data Store (IDS), the first successful database management system.

For databases to be effective, they need to be planned carefully. Following are three characteristics of good database design:

  Ensuring Data Security The same features that make databases efficient tools make them vulnerable to invasions of privacy. Personal information can be misused. Requiring users to input a password before they can access data is one way of keeping a database secure.

A database management system, or DBMS, is software used to manage the storage, organization, processing, and retrieval of data in a database. There are several kinds of database management programs, including flat-file databases, relational databases, object-oriented databases, and multimedia databases.

  Flat-File Databases  A flat-file database allows you to work with data in only one table. A computerized address book is one example. In flat-file databases, records can be retrieved randomly. That is, you can look for just one name on a list. You can also retrieve an entire table and sort the data, or arrange it in a different order. You might sort to find all the people living in the same town, for example.

  Think about a relational database a school might have. One table might hold all students’ schedules. Another might have all their grades. Yet another table might include their addresses and phone numbers. All the tables can be linked by a key field: each student’s name or student identification number. By using key fields, administrators can find data about a particular student from any available table.

 

  Multimedia Databases Traditional databases can store all kinds of text and numerical data. Today’s computers also often deal with pictures, sounds, animation, or video clips. Multimedia professionals use databases to catalog media files, such as art, photographs, maps, video clips, and sound files. Media files themselves generally are not stored in databases because they are too large. Instead, a multimedia database serves as an index to all the separately stored files. Users can search through the index and then locate the particular file they want

I received my first computer when I was in the army in 1943. Since then, I would never have dreamed where the industry would go. I believe that databases . . . will always be there because we need to maintain our inventory of information. I also believe that data communications is essential in tying the people of the world together.”

Charles W. Bachman Database Developer Called “the father of database management,” Charles

W. Bachman is known for his work with database technology in the early 1960s. While working at General Electric, he developed the Integrated Data Store (IDS), the first successful database management system.

.

For databases to be effective, they need to be planned carefully. Following are three characteristics of good database design:

  Ensuring Data Security The same features that make databases efficient tools make them vulnerable to invasions of privacy. Personal information can be misused. Requiring users to input a password before they can access data is one way of keeping a database secure.

Lesson Review For more review questions, click the

Lesson Review icon. Then, print and complete the worksheet.

Give examples of how to manage information in databases.

Compare and contrast browsing, sorting, and querying data in a database.

Describe the features oSummarize  As you read the lesson, use a chart to help you summarize techniques for using databases effectively.

f a report template.

Computers can produce too much information, or information overload. Database creators can help manage data by:

summarizing information so that database users are not overwhelmed by details

including in reports only the data that meets specific information needs

Putting data into a database is of little help if you cannot retrieve it when you need it. One way to find data is to browse, or look through, all the records. Databases can display data like a spreadsheet, with each record occupying a row and each field in a column. You can also display each record on a separate screen.

    Many database programs provide keyboard commands and other tools, such as scroll bars and navigation buttons, that help users browse quickly through records. You can also limit the browsing so that the program displays only certain records and fields. This can greatly reduce the time it takes to locate or review specific records.

Navigation buttons allow users to move quickly through a large database table.

Another way to save time is to sort the data. Sorting lets you locate information quickly.

  Types of Sorting Databases can sort data in one of three ways:

Alphabetical sorting of letters and symbols Numerical sorting of numbers and values Chronological sorting of dates and times   Data can be sorted in ascending order, in which

values increase, such as A, B, C or 1, 2, 3. It can also be sorted the opposite way, in descending order. In this order, values decrease. Letters are listed C, B, and A, and numbers are sorted 3, 2, and 1.

 

  A benefit that database software has over paper databases is the ease with which reports can be created. A report is an ordered list of selected records and fields in an easy-to-read format. Reports can display data in columns, as labels, or as single records. Reports are usually printed on paper.

To generate a report, the database software uses the appropriate data currently in its tables. If you print the same report at a later time, it might contain different data reflecting whatever changes were made when the database was updated.

  Designing a Report Template In most databases, users design a report template, a pattern that controls how data will be displayed. This template typically has several main features:

a report header that appears at the beginning of a report, such as the report title

a report footer that appears at the end of a report, such as summary totals or averages

a page header that appears at the top of each page, such as field headings

a page footer that appears at the bottom of each page, such as the date the report was printed and the page number

the arrangement of the data that you want the report to include

  Designing a Report Template In most databases, users design a report template, a pattern that controls how data will be displayed. This template typically has several main features:

a report header that appears at the beginning of a report, such as the report title

a report footer that appears at the end of a report, such as summary totals or averages

a page header that appears at the top of each page, such as field headings

a page footer that appears at the bottom of each page, such as the date the report was printed and the page number

For more review questions, click the Lesson Review icon. Then, print and complete the worksheet.

Directions:  Choose one of the following projects. Complete the exercises on a separate sheet of paper.

A. Select a magazine in your school library and create a database of the articles featured in that issue. Include such fields as author, title, topic, and starting page number. Add another field for date of the issue, and add some records from another issue of the same magazine. Create a report that displays the data you input. After printing your report, find another way of presenting the data and print that report. Save your database.

B. In small groups, make an appointment to visit a local business. Interview the owner or a key employee about the databases that the business uses. Find out what tables, records, and fields the databases have.

•Describe the basic organization of a database. •Summarize advantages to using database software. •Define GIGO and explain how it relates to the quality of a database.

   

As You Read Organize Information As you read the lesson, use a concept web to help you organize basic facts about databases.

 

Flat-File Databases  A flat-file database allows you to work with data in only one table. A computerized address book is one example. In flat-file databases, records can be retrieved randomly. That is, you can look for just one name on a list. You can also retrieve an entire table and sort the data, or arrange it in a different order. You might sort to find all the people living in the same town, for example.

bFlat-file databases have a limitation. The data in one table cannot be linked to the data in another table. That might not be a problem with a simple address ook. However, many businesses and other large organizations use databases in more complex ways, and they need added flexibility