AcctIS10E Ch09 CE

Chapter 9
Database
Management
Systems
James A. Hall, Accounting Information Systems, 10th Edition. © 2019

Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Learning Objectives
• Understand the operational problems inherent in the flat-file
approach to data management that gave rise to the database
concept.
• Understand the relationships among the defining elements of the
database environment.
• Understand the anomalies caused by unnormalized databases
and the need for data normalization.
• Be familiar with the stages in database design, including entity
identification, data modeling, constructing the physical database,
and preparing user views.
• Be familiar with the operational features of distributed databases
and recognize the issues that need to be considered in deciding
on a particular database configuration.
James A. Hall, Accounting Information Systems, 10th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 2
Overview of the Flat-File versus Database
Approach
• Flat-file approach is an organizational environment in
which users own their data exclusively.
• Data attribute is the most elemental piece of potentially
useful data in the database.
• Data redundancy is a state of data elements being
represented in all user files.
• Data storage is an efficient information system that
captures and stores data only once and makes this single
source available to all users who need it.
• Data updating is the periodic updating of data stored in
the files of an organization.
Overview of the Flat-File versus Database
Approach (continued)
• Currency of information is the problem associated with
the flat-file model because of its failure to update all the
user files affected by a change in status; may result in
decisions based on outdated information.
• Task-data dependency is the user’s inability to obtain
additional information as his or her needs change.
Flat-File Data Management
DATA STORAGE
• An efficient information system captures and stores data
only once and makes this single source available to all
users who need it.
• To meet the private data needs of users, organizations
must incur the costs of both multiple collection and
multiple storage procedures.
DATA UPDATING
• Organizations have a great deal of data stored on master
files and reference files that require periodic updating to
reflect operational and economic changes.
• When users maintain separate files, any such change
must be made separately for each user.
• This adds significantly to the cost of data management.
CURRENCY OF INFORMATION
• The problem of performing multiple updates is the
problem of failing to update the files of all users affected
by a change.
• If update messages are not properly disseminated, then
some users may not record the change and will perform
their duties and make decisions based on outdated data.
TASK-DATA DEPENDENCY
• Another problem with the flat-file approach is the user’s
inability to obtain additional information as his or her
needs change.
• The user’s information set is constrained by the data that
he or she possesses and controls.
THE DATABASE APPROACH
• The most obvious change from the flat-file model is the
pooling of data into a common database that is shared by
all the users.
The Database Concept - a
FLAT-FILE PROBLEMS SOLVED
• Data sharing is the central concept of the database
approach:
• No data redundancy
• Single update
• Current values
• Task-data independence
CONTROLLING ACCESS TO THE DATABASE
• The database approach places all the firm’s information

eggs in one basket.
• It is essential to take very good care of the basket.
THE DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• The database management system (DBMS) is a

software system that controls access to the data resource.
• The DBMS is a special software system that is
programmed to know which data elements each user is
authorized to access.
The Database Concept - b
THREE CONCEPTUAL MODELS
• The hierarchical model is a database model that
represents data in a hierarchical structure and permits only a
single parent record for each child record.
• Users are the individuals who employ systems, receive
information, and act on the information received.
• The relational model is a data model that is more flexible
than traditional navigational models. It allows users to create
new and unique paths through the database to solve a wide
range of business problems.
• Navigational models are models that possess explicit links
or paths among data elements.
• The internal view is the physical arrangement of records in
the database.
Elements of the Database Environment
• The database environment is broken down into four

primary elements:
1. Users
2. The DBMS
3. The database administrator
4. The physical database
Elements of the Database Concept
USERS
• Users access the database in two ways.
• User application programs that systems professionals prepare.
• Direct query, which requires no formal user programs.
• Data Definition Language

• Data definition language (DDL) is a programming language
used to define the database to the database management
system.
• INTERNAL VIEW
• CONCEPTUAL VIEW (SCHEMA): The schema is a
description of the entire database.
• USER VIEW (SUBSCHEMA): The user view is a set of data
that a particular user needs to achieve his or her assigned
tasks.
• DBMS OPERATION: Access method is a technique used to
locate records and navigate through the database.
Overview of DBMS Operation
(continued)
• Data Manipulation Language

• Data manipulation language (DML) is the language used to
insert special database commands into application programs
written in conventional languages.
• Query Language
• The indexed sequential file is a sequential file structure
accessed via an index.
Example of Select Command Used to Query an
Inventory Database
THE DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR
• The database administrator (DBA) is the individual
responsible for managing the database resource.
• Organizational Interactions of the DBA
• The Data Dictionary
• The data dictionary is a description of every data element in
the database.
Functions of the Database Administrator
Organizational Interactions of the Database
Administrator
THE PHYSICAL DATABASE
• The physical database is the lowest level of the
database containing magnetic spots on magnetic disks.
• The indexed sequential file is the sequential file
structure accessed via an index.
• The inverted list is a cross-reference created from
multiple indexes.
Indexed Sequential File
The Relational Database Model
• E. F. Codd originally proposed the principles of the
relational model in the late 1960s.
• The formal model has its foundations in relational algebra
and set theory, which provide the theoretical basis for
most of the data manipulation operations used.
• A system is relational if it:
1. Represents data in the form of two-dimensional tables such as
the database table, called Customer.
2. Supports the relational algebra functions of restrict, project,
and join.
A Relational Table Called Customer
The Relational Algebra Functions Restrict, Project,
and Join
DATA MODELING CONCEPTS
• A data model is a blueprint for what ultimately will
become the physical database.
• A top-down approach requires a detailed analysis of the
organization’s information needs.
• The bottom-up approach is when a client organization’s
database developers may modify the model to suit the
company’s specific needs.
DATA MODELING CONCEPTS (continued)
• Entity, Relation, Occurrence, and Attributes
• An entity is a resource, event, or agent.
• The entity relationship (ER) diagram is the documentation
technique used to represent the relationship among data
entities in a system.
• An entity-level ER diagram is a high-level perspective of the
overall schema, which presents only the key entities and their
relationships; it does not show the data types and keys
contained within the entities.
• A relation describes how data in one entity are related to data
in another entity.
• Occurrence (or instance) is used to describe the number of
instances or records that pertain to a specific entity.
• Attributes are the equivalents to adjectives in the English
language that serve to describe the objects.
Data Model Using an Entity Relationship Diagram
DATA MODELING CONCEPTS (continued)
• Associations and Cardinality
• Association describes the relationship among record types.
• Cardinality is the numerical mapping between entity
instances.
• The Physical Database Tables
• A tuple is the formal name for a row in the table.
• Primary key is the set of characteristics that uniquely identify
each record in the tables.
• Linkages between Relational Tables
• Foreign keys are keys that permit the physical connection of
logically related tables to achieve the associations described in
the data model.
• User Views
Examples of Entity Associations
Linkages between Relational Tables
Relationship between User Views and Entities
ANOMALIES, STRUCTURAL DEPENDENCIES,
AND DATA NORMALIZATION
• Database Anomalies
• Anomalies are negative operational symptoms caused by improperly
normalized tables.
• The first normal form (INF) is the low degree of normalization of
relational database tables.
• The second normal form (2NF) is a table that is free of both
repeating group and partial dependencies.
• The third normal form (3NF) is the normalization that occurs by
dividing an unnormalized database into smaller tables until all
attributes in the resulting tables are uniquely and wholly dependent
on (explained by) the primary key.
• The update anomaly is an unintentional updating of data in a table,
resulting from data redundancy.
• The insertion anomaly is an unintentional insertion of data into a
table.
• The deletion anomaly involves the unintentional deletion of data
from a table.
Inventory Status Report
Unnormalized Database Table
ANOMALIES, STRUCTURAL DEPENDENCIES,
AND DATA NORMALIZATION (continued)
• Normalizing Tables in a Relational Database
• Repeating groups occurs when multiple values for a particular
attribute exist in a specific tuple.
• Partial dependencies occurs when one or more nonkey
attributes are dependent on (defined by) only part of the
primary key rather than the whole key.
• Transitive dependencies occur in a table where nonkey
attributes are dependent on another nonkey attribute and are
independent of the table’s primary key.
Steps in the Normalization Process
A User View
REPRESENT THE VIEW AS A SINGLE TABLE
• Represent the view as a single table that contains all of

the view attributes.
Unnormalized Table Supporting User View
REMOVE REPEATING GROUP DATA
• The first step in correcting structural dependencies is to
determine if the table under review contains repeating
groups.
• A composite key is comprised of two attributes: INVOICE
NUM and PROD NUM.
Resulting Tables after Removing Repeating Group
Data and Calculated Fields
REMOVE PARTIAL DEPENDENCIES
• A partial dependency occurs when one or more nonkey
attributes are dependent on (defined by) only part of the
primary key, rather than the whole key.
• This can occur only in tables that have composite (two or
more attributes) primary keys.
Resulting Table after Removing Partial Dependency
REMOVE TRANSITIVE
DEPENDENCIES
• A transitive dependency occurs in a table where nonkey
attributes are dependent on another nonkey attribute and
independent of the table’s primary key.
• Resolve the transitive dependency by splitting out the
customer data and placing them in a new table called
Customer.
Resulting Table after Removing Transitive
Dependency
LINKING THE NORMALIZED TABLES
• Determine Cardinality
• KEYS IN 1:1 CARDINALITY
• KEYS IN 1:M CARDINALITY
• KEYS IN M:M CARDINALITY
• Accountants and Data Modeling
Linkages between Normalized Tables
Applying the 1:M Key-Assignment Rule
Normalized Database Tables
Top-Down Approach to Designing Relational
Databases
• View modeling determines the associations between
entities and document them with an ER diagram:
1. Identify the views to be modeled.
2. Normalize the data model and add primary keys.
3. Determine cardinalities and add foreign keys.
4. Construct the physical database.
5. Prepare the physical user views.
IDENTIFY THE VIEWS TO BE MODELED
• View modeling begins by identifying the relevant views of

the business function in question.
• This involves user interviews, and other techniques, to
determine what users do and what information they need
to support their tasks.
Purchase Order and Receiving Report for
Purchases System
Unnormalized Data Model Showing Primary Keys
and Attributes
Normalized Data Model
DETERMINE CARDINALITIES AND ADD
FOREIGN KEYS
• The next step in view modeling is to determine the
cardinality between entities and link the entities with
foreign keys.
• View integration involves combining the data needs of all
users into a single schema or enterprise-wide view.
CONSTRUCT THE PHYSICAL DATABASE
• Create the physical tables and populate them with data.

• This is an involved step that must be carefully planned
and executed, and may take many months in a large
installation.
• Programs will need to be written to transfer organization
data currently stored in flat files or legacy databases to
the new relational tables.
Normalized Tables
PREPARE THE PHYSICAL USER VIEWS
• The normalized tables should be rich enough to support

the views of all users of the system being modeled.
• Database developers use SQL to identify which tables to
use and which attributes to select to create the user view.
• A report program is used to make the view visually
attractive and easy to read.
COMMERCIAL DATABASE SYSTEM
• Commercial systems are designed to comply with proven
industry best practices and to satisfy the most common
needs of different client organizations.
• Working from a commercial database package,
developers can thus focus on configuring predefined
views to accommodate specific user needs within their
organizations rather than starting from scratch.
Databases in a Distributed Environment
• Distributed data processing (DDP) is reorganizing the

IT function into small information processing units (IPUs)
that are distributed to end users and placed under their
control.
• An important consideration in planning a distributed
system is the location of the organization’s database.
CENTRALIZED DATABASES
• A centralized database is a database retained in a
central location.
• Data currency is when a firm’s data files accurately
reflect the effects of its transactions.
• Data Currency in a DDP Environment
• Temporary inconsistency occurs during accounting
transactions, account balances pass through a state where the
values are incorrectly stated.
• Database Lockout
• A database lockout is software control (usually a function of
the DBMS) that prevents multiple simultaneous accesses to
data.
Centralized Database
DISTRIBUTED DATABASES
• Distributed databases are databases distributed using
either the partitioned or replicated technique.
• Partitioned Databases
• A partitioned database is a database approach that splits the
central database into segments or partitions that are
distributed to their primary users.
• THE DEADLOCK PHENOMENON: A deadlock is a “wait”
state that occurs between sites when data are locked by
multiple sites that are waiting for the removal of the locks from
the other sites.
• DEADLOCK RESOLUTION
• Replicated Databases
• Replicated databases is a database approach in which the
central database is replicated at each site.
DISTRIBUTED DATABASES (continued)
• Concurrency Control
• Concurrency control is a system that ensures that
transactions processed at each site are accurately reflected in
the databases at all other sites.
• Distributed Databases and the Accountant
The Partitioned Database Approach
The Deadlock Condition
Replicated Database Approach
Replicated Databases Updated Independently
Appendix - Distinguishing Features of
Structured Databases
• The Hierarchical Database Model
• A NAVIGATIONAL DATABASE
• LIMITATIONS OF THE HIERARCHICAL MODEL
• The Network Database Model
• Data Structures
• Data structures are techniques for physically arranging
records in a database.
• HIERARCHICAL MODEL DATA STRUCTURE: Hierarchical
indexed direct access method is a method in which the root
segment (customer file) of the database is organized as an
indexed file.
• NETWORK MODEL DATA STRUCTURE
Hierarchical Data Model
Portion of a Hierarchical Database
Multiple Parent Association
Linkages between Files in a Hierarchical Database
Linkages in a Network Database

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Chapter 9

James A. Hall, Accounting Information Systems, 10th Edition. © 2019

• The database approach places all the firm’s information

• The database management system (DBMS) is a

• The database environment is broken down into four

• Data Definition Language

• Data Manipulation Language

• Represent the view as a single table that contains all of

• View modeling begins by identifying the relevant views of

• Create the physical tables and populate them with data.

• The normalized tables should be rich enough to support

• Distributed data processing (DDP) is reorganizing the

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