IT in Business

Instructor: Urooj Azhar

 A database is a collection of 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.

 One or more large structured sets of persistent

data, usually associated with software to update
and query the data.

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 A database is a collection of data which has been
organized so that a computer program can quickly
select desired items. This could be something as
straightforward as a list of names in alphabetical
order or an ascending list of numeric stock codes.

 The secret to the successful use of database

technology is the way in which data or information
is structured to enable efficient processing.

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 A database system is essentially nothing more than a
computerized record keeping system. The database itself
can be regarded as a kind of electronic filing cabinet; in
other words, it is a repository for a collection of
computerized data files/tables.
 The user of the system will be given facilities to perform
a variety of operations on such files including the
following among other: -
 Adding new, empty files / tables to the database
 Inserting new data into existing files / tables
 Retrieving data from existing files / tables.
 Updating data in existing files / tables.
 Deleting data from existing files / tables.
 Removing existing files / tables from the database.

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The database is one of the cornerstones of Information Technology, and
its ability to organize, process and manage information in a structured
and controlled manner is key to many aspects of modern business
efficiency.

Library catalogues Medical records Bank accounts

Stock control Personnel systems Product

catalogue

Student records Telephone directories Train timetables

Airline bookings Credit card details Customer histories

Stock market prices Discussion boards & so on…

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 A database system consists of:
 Data (the database)
 Software
 Hardware
 Users
 Database systems allow users to:
 Store
 Update
 Retrieve
 Organize & Protect their data.

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 Databases generally have one of two basic forms
 the single-file database or
 the multi-file relational database.

 Single-file databases are often called "flat file"

systems
And
 Relational databases are frequently known as
"structured" databases

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 The type of database system or tool that you
require depends on a number of factors, such as:
 the complexity of the data involved, e.g plain
text, images, sound files
 the quantity of data to be stored and processed
 whether the data needs to be accessed and
amended by more than one person
simultaneously
 whether data needs to be imported from, or
exported to, other IT systems

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 A database model is a theory or specification
describing how a database is structured and
used. Several such models have been suggested.

 Some of the models include:

 Relational model  Concept-oriented
 Hierarchical model  Entity-Attribute-
 Network model Value
 Object model  Multi-dimensional
 Object-Relational model
model
 Star schema
 Associative
 XML database
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 The relational model for database management is a
database model based on predicate logic and set
theory

 It consists of the following three components:

 Data structure: Data are organized in the form of
tables with rows and columns.
 Data manipulation: Powerful operations (using
SQL language) are used to manipulate data stored in
the relations.
 Data integrity: Facilities are included to specify
business rules that maintain the integrity of data
when they are manipulated.
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 A relational database can be designed with four
different types of relationships:

 One-to-One. EMPLOYEE to PARKING_SPACE

 One-to-Many. CUSTOMER to ORDERS
 Many-to-One. (Simply looking at One-to-Many the
other way around).
 Many-to-Many. ORDERS to PRODUCTS

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 End users
 Use the database system to achieve some goal

 Application developers
 Write software to allow end users to interface
with the database system
 Database Administrator (DBA)
 Plans, Designs & manages the database
system/security
 Database systems programmer
 Writes the database software itself
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 A database is a collection of files which are related
(information). A database management system (DBMS)
serves as a software interface between an application
program, the Operating System, and the actual database
files.
 A database management system (DBMS) is the software
used to control the information
 As an example, consider the relationship between three
database files (called Tables) that make up the database
containing:
STUDENT data, COURSE data, ENROLLMENT data.
 Note these files can be linked by shared logical primary
key fields.
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 Examples:
> Oracle > DB2 (IBM)
> MS SQL Server > MS Access
> Ingres> PostgreSQL
> MySQL
 Few DBMS concepts
 Data Element or Field: logical storage element.
 Record: grouped elements.
 File: collection of records of one type.
 Primary Key: unique identifier.
 Secondary Key: identifies groups of records.

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 Data independence - data definitions are stored in
the database definition and not in programs.
 Data Redundancy - this is minimized by enabling
data sharing across functional areas.
 Improves data integrity - consistency and
accuracy of data stored by the organization.
 Improves data sharing throughout the
organization.
 Improves programmer productivity.
 Improves data administration and control.
 Standards can be enforced
 Security restriction can be applied
 Conflicting requirements can be balanced
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