Data

 Data
 It Consists of raw facts, and figures from which some
conclusions can be drawn.
Information
 The processed form of data is called information. It is
the raw data that has been verified to be accurate and
timely, specific and organized for a purpose, is
presented within a context that gives it meaning and
relevance 

ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations

 Introduction
 Database
 An organized collection of logically related data
organized to meet users’ needs
 It is a central repository of shared data
stored in a standardized, convenient form

 Database management system (DBMS)

 A group of programs that manipulate the database and
provide an interface between the database and the user
of the database or other application programs
ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations
 Data Entities, Attributes, and
Keys
 Entity
• An entity is a thing or object of importance about which data
must be captured. E.g., Customer, Employee
 Attribute
• A characteristic of an entity; something the entity is identified by
• Information about an entity is captured in the form of attributes
and/or relationships.
• Each entity has zero or more attributes that describe it, and each
attribute describes exactly one entity.
• Each entity instance (row in the table) has exactly one value,
possibly NULL, for each of its attributes.
• An attribute value can be numeric, a character string, date, time,
or some other basic data value. E.g., Customer name, Employee
name
ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations
  Keys
• A field or set of fields in a record that is used to identify the
record
• E.g, A field or set of fields that uniquely identifies the record

ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations

 Terminology
 Database
• A collection of integrated and related files
 File
• A collection of related records
 Record
• A collection of related fields
 Field
• A group of characters
 Character
• Basic building block of information, represented by a byte
ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations
 Hierarchy of data Example
Personel file

Database
Database Department file (Project database)

Payroll file

005-10-6321 Johns Francine 10-7-65

(Personnel file)
Files
Files 549-77-1001 Buckley Bill 2-17-79
098-40-1370 Fiske Steven 1-5-85

(Record containing
Records
Records 098-40-1370 Fiske Steven 1-5-85 598
SSN, last name,
first name, date of
hire)
Fields
Fields Fiske (Last name field)

Characters
Characters 1000100 (Letter ‘F’ in ASCII)
(bytes)
(bytes)

ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations

 Advantages
 Improved strategic use of corporate data
 Reduced data redundancy
 Improved data integrity
 Easier modification and updating
 Data and program independence
 Better access to data and information
 Standardization of data access
 A framework for program development
 Better overall protection of the data
 Shared data and information resources
ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations
 Disadvantages
 Relatively high cost of purchasing and
operating a DBMS in a mainframe operating
environment
 Increased cost of specialized staff
 Increased vulnerability

ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations

 Data vs. Information:
 What is data?
 Data can be defined in many
ways. Information science
defines data as unprocessed
information.
ITEC 1010 Information and Organizations
 What is information?
 Information is data that have
been organized and
communicated in a coherent
and meaningful manner.
 Data is converted into
information, and information
is converted into knowledge.
 Knowledge; information
evaluated and organized so
that it can be used
purposefully.