Syllabus Focus: Unit 2 Module 1 Content 1

Specific Objective 1: differentiate among terms used in Information Management;

Content: For example, fields, records, tables, files, database and database management
system.

A database is a collection of related information that is organized so that it can easily be

accessed, managed, and updated. In one view, databases can be classified according to
types of content: bibliographic, full-text, numeric, and images. A database is a large
collection of persistent inter-related data.

A database management system (DBMS) is the software that maintains and provides
access to the database. It allows the user to

o Define the structure of the database, and

o Manipulate the database (query and update)

Database management System - A DBMS is a set of software programs that controls

the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. DBMSs are
categorized according to their data structures or types. The DBMS accepts requests for
data from an application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the
appropriate data. The queries and responses must be submitted and received according to
a format that conforms to one or more applicable protocols. When a DBMS is used,
information systems can be changed more easily as the organization's information
requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without
disruption to the existing system.

A table is a set of data elements (values) that is organized using a model of

vertical columns (which are identified by their name) and horizontal rows. A table has a
specified number of columns, but can have any number of rows. Each row is identified
by the values appearing in a particular column subset which has been identified as
a candidate key.

One row of data in a database is called a Record. A database record is a row of data in a
database table consisting of a single value from each column of data in the table. The data
in the columns in a table are all of the same type of data, whereas the rows represent a
given instance.

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A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information,
which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable
storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after
the current program has finished. Computer files can be considered as the modern
counterpart of paper documents which traditionally are kept in offices' and libraries' files,
and this is the source of the term.
Example Table:
==========================================================
Column Names: ID FirstName LastName BirthDate
==========================================================
1 George Gray 1/6/1960
2 Thomas Green 2/29/2000
3 Cynthia Black 5/30/1976
==========================================================
For the given table above, an example of a column of data would be FirstName. All the
values in that column are first names. An example record (or row) would be the record
with ID = 2 which represents the record for Thomas Green and contains each field from
that row.
Properly designed relational databases use "primary keys" to uniquely identify records in
a database. The value (or values) that compose the key must uniquely identify the entire
row and only that entire row in that table. That primary key can then appear in another
table to represent a relationship between that table and another table. In the example
above, the ID column would serve as the primary key for the table.
data entry: The process of getting information into a database, usually done by people
typing it in by way of data-entry forms designed to simplify the process.
Field: Fields describe a single aspect of each member of a table. A student record, for
instance, might contain a last name field, a first name field, a date of birth field and so on.
All records have exactly the same structure, so they contain the same fields. The values in
each field vary from record to record, of course. In some database systems, you'll find
fields referred to as attributes.
flat file: A database that consists of a single table. Lightweight database programs such
as the database component in Microsoft Works are sometimes called 'flat-file managers'
(or list managers) because they can only handle single-table databases. More powerful

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programs, such as FileMaker Pro, Access, Approach and Paradox, can handle multi-table
databases, and are called relational database managers, or RDBMSs.
foreign key: A key used in one table to represent the value of a primary key in a related
table. While primary keys must contain unique values, foreign keys may have duplicates.
For instance, if we use student ID as the primary key in a Students table (each student has
a unique ID), we could use student ID as a foreign key in a Courses table: as each student
may do more than one course, the student ID field in the Courses table (often shortened
to Courses.student ID) will hold duplicate values.
index: A summary table which lets you quickly look up the contents of any record in a
table. Think of how you use an index to a book: as a quick jumping off point to finding
full information about a subject. A database index works in a similar way. You can create
an index on any field in a table. Say, for example, you have a customer table which
contains customer numbers, names, addresses and other details. You can make indexes
based on any information, such as the customers' customer number, last name + first
name (a composite index based on more than one field), or postal code. Then, when
you're searching for a particular customer or group of customers, you can use the index to
speed up the search. This increase in performance may not be noticeable in a table
containing a hundred records; in a database of thousands of records it will be a blessing.
key field: You can sort and quickly retrieve information from a database by choosing one
or more fields to act as keys. For instance, in a students table you could use a combination
of the last name and first name fields (or perhaps last name, first name and birth dates to
ensure you identify each student uniquely) as a key field. The database program will
create an index containing just the key field contents. Using the index, you can quickly
find any record by typing in the student's name. The database will locate the correct entry
in the index and then display the full record.
Key fields are also used in relational databases to maintain the structural integrity of your
tables, helping you to avoid problems such as duplicate records and conflicting values in
fields (see primary key and foreign key).

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