DATABASE SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION

Definitions

 Data

Generally, data is a set of values of qualitative or quantitativevariables. Data is measured,

collected and reported, and analyzed, whereupon it can be visualized using graphs or images.
Data as a general concept refers to the fact that some existing information or knowledge is
represented or coded in some form suitable for better usage or processing.

Data is also defined as Symbols or signals that are input, stored, and processed by a computer,
for output as usable information.

 Information

It’s that which informs, i.e. an answer to a question

At its most fundamental, information is any propagation of cause and effect within a system.
Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect
observation of something. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own
right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message.

Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for example,
information may be encoded into signs, and transmitted via signals). It can also be encrypted for
safe storage and communication.

Therefore, Information can be defined as ; Data that is (1) accurate and timely, (2) specific and
organized for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and
(4) can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.

 Database
A shared collection of logically related data (and a description of this data), designed to meet the
information needs of an organization. Logically related data comprises entities, attributes, and
relationships of an organization’s information.

Characteristics of Database

The data in a database should have the following features:

 Organized/Related. It should be well organized and related.
 Shared. Data in a database are shared among different users and applications.
 Permanent or Persistence. Data in a database exist permanently in the sense the data
can live beyond the scope of the process that created it.
 Validity/integrity/Correctness. Data should be correct with respect to the real-world
entity that they represent.
 Security. Data should be protected from unauthorized access.
 Consistency. Whenever more than one data element in a database represents related
real-world values, the values should be consistent with respect to the relationship.
 Non-redundancy: No two data items in a database should represent the same real-world
entity.
 Independence. Data at different levels should be independent of each other so that the
changes in one level should not affect the other levels.
 Easily Accessible. It should be available when and where it is needed i.e. it should be
easily accessible.
 Recoverable. It should be recoverable in case of damage.
 Flexible to change. It should be flexible to change.

 Advantages of Database
1. Reducing Data Redundancy - The file-based data management systems contained multiple
files that were stored in many different locations in a system or even across multiple systems.
Because of this, there were sometimes multiple copies of the same file which lead to data
redundancy. This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is
reflected immediately. Because of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.
2. Sharing of Data- In a database, the users of the database can share the data among
themselves. There are various levels of authorization to access the data, and consequently
the data can only be shared based on the correct authorization protocols being followed.
3. Data Integrity- Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the
database.
 4. Data Security- Data Security is vital concept in a database. Only authorized users should be
allowed to access the database and their identity should be authenticated using a username and
password.
5. Privacy-The privacy rule in a database means only the authorized users can access a database
according to its privacy constraints.
6. Backup and Recovery - Database Management System automatically takes care of backup and
recovery.
7. Data Consistency- All data appears consistently across the database and the data is
same for all the users viewing the database. Any changes made to the database are
immediately reflected to all the users and there is no data inconsistency.

 Database Management System (DBMS)

A software system that enables users to define, create, and maintain the database and that
provides controlled access to this database.

Advantages of DBMSs

 Control of data redundancy

 Data consistency

 More information from the same amount of data

 Sharing of data

 Improved data integrity

 Improved security

 Enforcement of standards

 Economy of scale

 Balanced conflicting requirements

  Improved data accessibility and responsiveness

 Increased productivity

 Improved maintenance through data independence

 Increased concurrency

 Improved backup and recovery services

Disadvantages of DBMSs

 Complexity

 Size

 Cost of DBMS

 Additional hardware costs

 Cost of conversion

 Performance

 Vulnerability to attack

 Higher impact of a failure

What is a Database Management System (or DBMS)?

Organizations employ Database Management Systems (or DBMS) to help them effectively
manage their data and derive relevant information out of it. A DBMS is a technology tool that
directly supports data management. It is a package designed to define, manipulate, and manage
data in a database.

Some general functions of a DBMS:

 Designed to allow the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of

databases
  Define rules to validate the data and relieve users of framing programs for data
maintenance
 Convert an existing database, or archive a large and growing one
 Run business applications, which perform the tasks of managing business processes,
interacting with end-users and other applications, to capture and analyze data

Some well-known DBMSs are Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle, SAP, and
others.

Components of DBMS Environment

i. Hardware

-Can range from a PC to a network of computers.

ii. Software

-DBMS, operating system, network software (if necessary) and also the application programs.

iii. Data

-Used by the organization and a description of this data called the schema.

iv. Procedures

-Instructions and rules that should be applied to the design and use of the database and DBMS.

v. People

a) COMPONENTS OF DBMS in depth

DBMS have several components, each performing very significant tasks in the database
management system environment. Below is a list of components within the database and its
environment.

Software
This is the set of programs used to control and manage the overall database. This includes the
DBMS software itself, the Operating System, the network software being used to share the data
among users, and the application programs used to access data in the DBMS.

Hardware
Consistsof a set of physical electronic devices such as computers, I/O devices, storage devices,
etc., this provides the interface between computers and the real world systems.

Data
DBMS exists to collect, store, process and access data, the most important component. The
database contains both the actual or operational data and the metadata.

Procedures
These are the instructions and rules that assist on how to use the DBMS, and in designing and
running the database, using documented procedures, to guide the users that operate and manage
it.

Database Access Language

This is used to access the data to and from the database, to enter new data, update existing data,
or retrieve required data from databases. The user writes a set of appropriate commands in a
database access language, submits these to the DBMS, which then processes the data and
generates and displays a set of results into a user readable form.

Query Processor

This transforms the user queries into a series of low level instructions. This reads the online
user’s query and translates it into an efficient series of operations in a form capable of being sent
to the run time data manager for execution.

Run Time Database Manager

Sometimes referred to as the database control system, this is the central software component of
the DBMS that interfaces with user-submitted application programs and queries, and handles
database access at run time. Its function is to convert operations in user’s queries. It provides
control to maintain the consistency, integrity and security of the data.

Data Manager

Also called the cache manager, this is responsible for handling of data in the database, providing
a recovery to the system that allows it to recover the data after a failure.

Database Engine

The core service for storing, processing, and securing data, this provides controlled access and
rapid transaction processing to address the requirements of the most demanding data consuming
applications. It is often used to create relational databases for online transaction processing or
online analytical processing data.
 Data Dictionary

This is a reserved space within a database used to store information about the database itself. A
data dictionary is a set of read-only table and views, containing the different information about
the data used in the enterprise to ensure that database representation of the data follow one
standard as defined in the dictionary.

Report Writer

Also referred to as the report generator, it is a program that extracts information from one or
more files and presents the information in a specified format. Most report writers allow the user
to select records that meet certain conditions and to display selected fields in rows and columns,
or also format the data into different charts.

b) CHARACTERISTICS

Traditionally, data was organized in file formats. DBMS was a new concept then, and all the
research was done to make it overcome the deficiencies in traditional style of data management.
A modern DBMS has the following characteristics −

 Real-world entity

A modern DBMS is more realistic and uses real-world entities to design its architecture. It uses
the behavior and attributes too. For example, a school database may use students as an entity and
their age as an attribute.

 Relation-based tables

DBMS allows entities and relations among them to form tables. A user can understand the
architecture of a database just by looking at the table names.
 Isolation of data and application

A database system is entirely different than its data. A database is an active entity, whereas data
is said to be passive, on which the database works and organizes. DBMS also stores metadata,
which is data about data, to ease its own process.

 Less redundancy

DBMS follows the rules of normalization, which splits a relation when any of its attributes is
having redundancy in values. Normalization is a mathematically rich and scientific process that
reduces data redundancy.

 Consistency

Consistency is a state where every relation in a database remains consistent. There exist methods
and techniques, which can detect attempt of leaving database in inconsistent state. A DBMS can
provide greater consistency as compared to earlier forms of data storing applications like file-
processing systems.

 Query Language

DBMS is equipped with query language, which makes it more efficient to retrieve and
manipulate data. A user can apply as many and as different filtering options as required to
retrieve a set of data. Traditionally it was not possible where file-processing system was used.

 ACID Properties

DBMS follows the concepts of Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability (normally
shortened as ACID). These concepts are applied on transactions, which manipulate data in a
database. ACID properties help the database stay healthy in multi-transactional environments
and in case of failure.

 Multiuser and Concurrent Access

DBMS supports multi-user environment and allows them to access and manipulate data in
parallel. Though there are restrictions on transactions when users attempt to handle the same data
item, but users are always unaware of them.

 Multiple views

DBMS offers multiple views for different users. A user who is in the Sales department will have
a different view of database than a person working in the Production department. This feature
enables the users to have a concentrate view of the database according to their requirements.

 Security

Features like multiple views offer security to some extent where users are unable to access data
of other users and departments. DBMS offers methods to impose constraints while entering data
into the database and retrieving the same at a later stage. DBMS offers many different levels of
security features, which enables multiple users to have different views with different features.
For example, a user in the Sales department cannot see the data that belongs to the Purchase
department. Additionally, it can also be managed how much data of the Sales department should
be displayed to the user. Since a DBMS is not saved on the disk as traditional file systems, it is
very hard for miscreants to break the code.

c) USERS

A typical DBMS has users with different rights and permissions who use it for different
purposes. Some users retrieve data and some back it up. The users of a DBMS can be broadly
categorized as follows −
 i. Administrators

Administrators maintain the DBMS and are responsible for administrating the database. They are
responsible to look after its usage and by whom it should be used. They create access profiles for
users and apply limitations to maintain isolation and force security. Administrators also look
after DBMS resources like system license, required tools, and other software and hardware
related maintenance.

ii. Designers

Designers are the group of people who actually work on the designing part of the database. They
keep a close watch on what data should be kept and in what format. They identify and design the
whole set of entities, relations, constraints, and views.

iii. End Users

End users are those who actually reap the benefits of having a DBMS. End users can range from
simple viewers who pay attention to the logs or market rates to sophisticated users such as
business analysts.