Database Systems Life Cycle

• Database system Life Cycle

• Database Definition and Manipulation
 Database Systems Life Cycle
• The database development life cycle (DDLC) is a process of designing,
implementing and maintaining a database system to meet strategic or
operational information needs of an organization or enterprise such
as: Improved customer support and customer satisfaction. Better
production management

• . DBSLC involves the creation of a database, from before its inception,

right through to its maintenance and monitoring
 Database Systems Life Cycle
• Each phase within the life cycle is important, but getting the earlier
ones done right will mean saving time and money later down the line.
Like building a house, it’s important to get the foundations right.

• The steps are sometimes referred to as a waterfall model because a

step must be completed before moving on to the next step.

• Below are the database development phases, although some

technical teams may break this further down into more detailed
steps.
Database System Life Cycle
 Database Planning
• The Planning Phase for a database project creates a foundation for
the final database.

• The Planning Phase is similar to developing architectural plans for

constructing a building and helps ensure that your database project
goes smoothly, preventing scope issues and errors while saving you
time and expense.
 Database Planning
• The Planning Phase is offered as a separate service because it is
absolutely vital to the success of your project.

• This is especially true for SQL Server with .NET projects or in

situations where the requirement specifications are too general in
nature to adequately quote an accurate project pricing.
 Requirements collection and Analysis
• Requirements gathering is all about defining what the requirements
of the business are. Why do they need a database? What do they
need from the database? How do they expect the database will be
used? What kind of interface will it have?

• These questions may seem overwhelming to a business specialist who

doesn’t know the intricacies of database development, that’s why the
requirements phase must involve technically-minded individuals like
database specialists who ideally also understand business.
 Requirements collection and Analysis
• They know how to ask the right questions to gather the information
they need to design the database in the most efficient and effective
way.

• They will spend time with the business to understand their day-to-
day processes and they will also speak to different people to
understand the needs of the business.
Requirements collection and Analysis
• It is imperative that the scope of the database is defined here and
that all requirements are gathered, documented, and analyzed.

• It could be that it is established that software engineers me need to

be invited into the process if a separate user interface needs to be
built to communicate with the database.
 Requirements collection and Analysis
Techniques for requirements collection:
1. Examining documentation.
2. Interviewing.
3. Observing the enterprise in action.
4. Research.
5. Questionnaires.
 Database Design
• This is where the requirements of the business are translated into a
database design.
• An experienced database professional will create detailed
documentation of the design with accompanying diagrams of the
physical and logical design.
• It will include all the tables that will exist within the database, and
how they relate to one another. It will also include other details like
what indexes will be used, access privileges, and a breakdown of
stored procedures. Stored procedures are like database transactions
which allow for the reading, writing and retrieval of data.
 Database Design
• Other specifications that are considered in the design process is how
the database will be stored and accessed and what kind of database
software will be used, for example SQL server or Microsoft Access
 Databases
Database
• A database is simply any digital location that holds multiple pieces of data in a logical and
easy-to-understand manner.

• Databases are made up of database objects.

Database Objects
• Database objects are any structures used within the database as a whole to store and
display data.

• For example, the most common and simple database object is a table. Another example
of a database object would be an index or sequence
 Data Definition Language
• DDL is a database programming language, and it’s used specifically for
modifying and creating database objects.

• DDL is the tool we’d use to add more shelves, take shelves away, or
modify existing shelves.

• DML (Data Modification Language), on the other hand, would be used

to modify the produce sitting on the shelves.
 Examples Of DDL
• Create
• Alter
• Drop
• Truncate
 CREATE
• The “Create” command is used to create objects in the database.
Within this command is pre-defined, implied syntax, which is a fancy
way of saying that you have to structure the command in the same
order every time you use it.

• The Create syntax is as follows:

• Create [type of object] [name of object] ([columns defined]) [table

parameters];
 ALTER
• Alter” commands are used to, alter database objects and structure. It
can add columns to a table, take columns away from a table, and can
even change the data types of columns.

• Much like the Create command, Alter has its own syntax, which is as
follows:

• Alter [type of object] [name of object] [object parameters];

 DROP
• The “Drop” command is used to delete database objects such as
tables, indexes… you name it.

• It’s an incredibly helpful tool, but be warned, activating a Drop

command is a point of no return; once it’s done… it’s done for good.

• The pre-defined syntax for Drop commands is as follows:

• Drop [type of object] [object name]

 TRUNCATE
• You’d use the “Truncate” command if you wanted to delete all the
contents of a database object but save the structure of the object for
use at a later date.

• The Truncate command syntax is as follows:

• Truncate [type of object] [name of object]

 Database Manipulation
• A data manipulation language (DML) is a family of computer languages
including commands permitting users to manipulate data in a database.

• This manipulation involves inserting data into database tables,

retrieving existing data, deleting data from existing tables and
modifying existing data.

• DML can be used to alter large amounts of data in one fell swoop,
saving some poor souls from having to edit each individual piece of
data manually.
 Examples Of DDL
• SELECT
• INSERT
• UPDATE
• DELETE
 SELECT
• This command is used to retrieve rows from a table.

• The syntax is SELECT [column name(s)] from [table name] where

[conditions]. SELECT is the most widely used DML command in SQL.
 INSERT
• This command adds one or more records to a database table.

• The insert command syntax is INSERT INTO [table name] [column(s)]

VALUES [value(s)].
 UPDATE
• This command modifies data of one or more records.

• An update command syntax is UPDATE [table name] SET [column

name = value] where [condition].
 DELETE
• This command removes one or more records from a table according
to specified conditions.

• Delete command syntax is DELETE FROM [table name] where

[condition].