Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition Chapter 3 Database Systems and Business Intelligence

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition

Chapter 3 Database Systems and Business

Intelligence

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition 2

Principles and Learning Objectives

• Data management and modeling are key aspects of organizing data and information– Define general data management concepts and

terms, highlighting the advantages of the database approach to data management

– Describe the relational database model and outline its basic features


Principles and Learning Objectives (continued)

• A well-designed and well-managed database is an extremely valuable tool in supporting decision making– Identify the common functions performed by all

database management systems, and identify popular database management systems

• The number and types of database applications will continue to evolve and yield real business benefits– Identify and briefly discuss current database

applications


Data Management

• Without data and the ability to process it an organization could not successfully complete most business activities

• For data to be transformed into useful information, it must first be organized in a meaningful way

The Hierarchy of Data

• Bit – Circuit that is either on or off – Eight bits = one byte

• Character– Basic building block of information

• Field– Name, number, or combination of characters that

describes an aspect of a business object or activity



The Hierarchy of Data (continued)

• Record– Collection of related data fields

• File– Collection of related records

• Database– Collection of integrated and related files

• Hierarchy of data– Bits, characters, fields, records, files, and databases


The Hierarchy of Data (continued)

Data Entities, Attributes, and Keys

• Entity– Generalized class of people, places, or things for

which data is collected, stored, and maintained

• Attribute– Characteristic of an entity

• Data item– Value of an attribute



Data Entities, Attributes, and Keys (continued)

• Key– Field or set of fields in a record that is used to

identify the record

• Primary key– Field or set of fields that uniquely identifies the

record


Data Entities, Attributes, and Keys (continued)

The Database Approach

• Traditional approach to database management – Separate data files are created and stored for each

application program

• Database approach to database management– Multiple application programs share a pool of related

data



The Database Approach (continued)


The Database Approach (continued)


Data Modeling and Database Characteristics

• When building a database, consider:– Content: What data should be collected, at what

cost?– Access: What data should be provided to which

users and when?– Logical structure: How should data be arranged to

make sense to a given user?– Physical organization: Where should data be

physically located?

Data Modeling

• Building a database requires two types of designs– Logical design

• Abstract model of how data should be structured and arranged to meet an organization’s information needs

– Physical design• Fine-tunes the logical database design for

performance and cost considerations


Data Modeling (continued)

• Planned data redundancy– Improves system performance

• Data model– Diagram of data entities and their relationships

• Enterprise data modeling– Data modeling done at the level of the entire

enterprise

• Entity-relationship (ER) diagrams– Data models that use basic graphical symbols to show

the organization of and relationships between data



Data Modeling (continued)


The Relational Database Model

• Relational model– Describes data using a standard tabular format– Data elements are placed in two-dimensional tables,

called relations, the logical equivalent of files

• Domain– Allowable values for data attributes


The Relational Database Model (continued)

Manipulating Data

• Selecting– Eliminates rows according to criteria

• Projecting– Eliminates columns in a table

• Joining– Combines two or more tables

• Linking– Combines two or more tables using common data

attributes



Manipulating Data (continued)


Manipulating Data (continued)


Database Management Systems (DBMS)

• Group of programs used as an interface between a database and application programs or a database and the user

• Used to manage all kinds of data for all kinds of purposes

Overview of Database Types

• Flat file– Simple database program whose records have no

relationship to one another

• Single user– Only one person can use the database at a time

• Multiple user– Allows dozens or hundreds of people to access the

same database system at the same time– Examples: Oracle, Sybase, and IBM


Providing a User View

• Schema– Logical and physical structure of the data and

relationships among the data in the database – Can be part of the database or a separate schema

file


Creating and Modifying the Database

• Data definition language (DDL)– Collection of instructions/commands that define and

describe data and data relationships in a database– Allows database creator to describe the data and the

data relationships that are to be contained in the schema

• Data dictionary– Detailed description of all the data used in the

database



Creating and Modifying the Database (continued)


Creating and Modifying the Database (continued)

Storing and Retrieving Data

• One function of a DBMS is:– To be an interface between an application program

and the database

• Concurrency control– Method of dealing with a situation in which two or

more people need to access the same record in a database at the same time



Storing and Retrieving Data (continued)


Manipulating Data and Generating Reports

• Query-by-example (QBE)– Visual approach to developing database queries or

requests

• Data manipulation language (DML)– Commands that manipulate the data in a database

• Structured Query Language (SQL)– Standardized data manipulation language– Lets programmers learn one powerful query

language and use it on systems ranging from PCs to the largest mainframe computers


Manipulating Data and Generating Reports (continued)


Database Administration

• Database administrator (DBA) should: – Have a clear understanding of the fundamental

business of the organization – Be proficient in the use of selected database

management systems – Stay abreast of emerging technologies and new

design approaches


Popular Database Management Systems

• Popular DBMSs for end users– Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro

• Emerging software– Database as a Service (DaaS) or Database 2.0– Database administration is provided by the service

provider


Special-Purpose Database Systems

• Specialized database packages – Israeli Holocaust Database– Morphbank– iTunes Store music and video catalog

Selecting a Database Management System

• Important characteristics of databases: – Database size– Database cost– Concurrent users– Performance– Integration– Vendor


Using Databases with Other Software

• Database management systems are often used with other software packages or the Internet

• Front-end application– Directly interacts with users

• Back-end application– Interacts with applications


Database Applications

• Manipulate content of a database to produce useful information

• Common manipulations– Searching, filtering, synthesizing, and assimilating

data



Linking Databases to the Internet

• Semantic Web– Developing a seamless integration of traditional

databases with the Internet– Allows people to access and manipulate a number of

traditional databases at the same time through the Internet


Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Mining

• Data warehouse– Holds business information from many sources in

the enterprise

• Data mart– Subset of a data warehouse

• Data mining– Information-analysis tool for discovering patterns and

relationships in a data warehouse– Predictive analysis: Combines historical data with

assumptions about future conditions


Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Mining (continued)


Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Mining (continued)


Business Intelligence

• Gathering the right information in a timely manner and usable form and analyzing it to have a positive impact on business

• Competitive intelligence– Limited to information about competitors and the

ways that knowledge affects strategy, tactics, and operations

• Counterintelligence – Steps an organization takes to protect information

sought by “hostile” intelligence gatherers

Distributed Databases

• Data may be spread across several smaller databases connected via telecommunications devices

• Give corporations and other organizations more flexibility in how databases are organized and used

• Replicated database– Holds a duplicate set of frequently used data



Distributed Databases (continued)


Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

• Software that allows users to explore data from a number of perspectives

• Provides top-down, query-driven data analysis

• Requires repetitive testing of user originated theories


Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) (continued)


Object-Relational Database Management Systems

• Object-oriented database– Database that stores both data and its processing

instructions• Object-oriented database management system

(OODBMS)– Programs that manipulate an object-oriented

database and provide a user interface and connections to other application programs

• Object-relational database management system (ORDBMS)– Capable of manipulating audio, video, and graphical

data


Visual, Audio, and Other Database Systems

• Virtual database systems– Allow different databases to work together as a

unified database system

• Spatial data technology – Use of a database to store and access data

according to the locations it describes

Summary

• Data– Organized into a hierarchy that builds from the

smallest element to the largest

• Traditional file-oriented applications – Often characterized by program-data dependence

• Data model – Map or diagram of entities and their relationships

• DBMS– Group of programs used as an interface between a

database and its users and other applications



Summary (continued)

• After a DBMS has been installed– It can be accessed, modified, and queried via a data

manipulation language

• Data warehouse– Relational database management systems

specifically designed to support management decision making

• Business intelligence – Getting enough of the right information in a timely

manner and usable form

Documents

Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fifth Edition Chapter 3 Database Systems and Business Intelligence