MS Access

An Overview of the Database

Concept
Databases are collections of related
information that are organized so that you
can easily find the information that you
need.
The database stores data in tables which
contain rows and columns.
An Overview of the Database
Concept
MS Access is the database component of
Microsoft Office, it is designed to act as an
"intelligent" electronic filing cabinet.
MS Access is a database management
system from Microsoft that enables one to
have good command of data collected.
It enables one to retrieve, sort, summarize
and report results speedily and effectively.
It can combine data from various files
through creating relationships and can make
data entry more efficient and accurate.
An Overview of the Database
Concept
It collects together sets of related data and
keep them data organized.
It updates the data once you have collected
them, adding or deleting records, or changing
the contents of existing records.
Microsoft Access (MS Access) enables one
to manage all important information from a
single database file.
All MS Access databases files are saved with
extension .accdb
An Overview of the Database
Concept
MS Access Database Management
System is composed of four major
objects.
◦ Tables
◦ Queries
◦ Forms
◦ Reports
 Table
 Table is an object that is used to define and store data.
When you create a new table, Access asks you to define
fields which is also known as column headings.
 Each field must have a unique name, and data type.
 Tables contain fields or columns that store different kinds
of data, such as a name or an address, and records or rows
that collect all the information about a particular instance
of the subject, such as all the information about a
customer or employee etc.
 You can define a primary key, one or more fields that
have a unique value for each record, and one or more
indexes on each table to help retrieve your data more
quickly.
 Table
Example of a table

 The data elements of a database at the intersection of a row (record)

and a column (field) are called values.
 One of the fields, called the primary key, in a table uniquely
identifies each of the records. In the example shown above, the
primary key is the ID.
 Table
 The fields in a database have settings that determine the
◦ Type of data they can store,
◦ How the data is displayed,
◦ What can be done with the data.
 For example, field settings can ensure that birth dates are entered
with two numbers for the month, two numbers for the day, four
numbers for the year, and slashes in between: 01/04/2006.
 One important setting for fields is the data type, which could be a
number, text, currency, and date/time.
 The data type limits and describes the kind of information in the
field.
 The data type also determines the actions one can perform on a field
and how much memory the data will use.
 Fields also have properties that control the details of information
inside them, including a character length, a default value, and a
validation rule that makes sure the data meets certain criteria.
Table
Access is a relational database management
system (RDBMS) that generally uses more than
one table to store information.
Each table holds data that are logically inter-
related.
Relationship is an association that is established
between common fields (columns) in two tables
or other components of a database.
For example, a college student database might
have one table of personal information about
students and another showing the classes they are
taking.
 These two tables have a relationship created by the matching
StudentID numbers.
 For example, by matching the two StudentID numbers we can
see that Bat Masterson took Psychology 104, Humanities 100,
Math 200, and Religion 202 in the 200409 term.
Table
Foreign key: One or more table fields
(columns) that refer to the primary key
field or fields in another table.
A foreign key indicates how the tables are
related.
For the case of previous example the
foreign key is StudentID in the tblClasses
table.
Query
 An object that provides a custom view of data from
one or more tables.
 Queries are a way of searching for and compiling data
from one or more tables.
 Running a query is like asking a detailed question of
your database.
 When you build a query in Access, you are defining
specific search conditions to find exactly the data you
want.
 In Access, you can use the graphical query by
example facility or you can write Structured Query
Language (SQL) statements to create your queries.
 You can define queries to Select, Update, Insert, or
Delete data.
Form
 Form is an object in a desktop database designed
primarily for data input or display or for control of
application execution.
 You use forms to customize the presentation of data
that your application extracts from queries or tables.
 Forms are used for entering, modifying, and viewing
records.
 The reason forms are used so often is that they are an
easy way to guide people toward entering data
correctly.
 When you enter information into a form in Access, the
data goes exactly where the database designer wants it
to go in one or more related tables.
Report
 Report is an object in desktop databases designed for
formatting, calculating, printing, and summarizing selected
data.
 You can view a report on your screen before you print it.
 If forms are for input purposes, then reports are for output.
 Anything you plan to print deserves a report, whether it is a
list of names and addresses, a financial summary for a period,
or a set of mailing labels.
 Reports are useful because they allow you to present
components of your database in an easy-to-read format.
 You can even customize a report's appearance to make it
visually appealing.
 Access offers you the ability to create a report from any table
or query.