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I T M
UNIVERSITY
ONLINE
Computer Information System
1.1 Introduction 6
2.1 Introduction 26
3.1 Introduction 48
3.8 Chapter S u m m a r y 66
4.1 Introduction 68
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Computer Information System
4.6 C a p a b i l i t i e s of D B M S 80
4.8 Chapter S u m m a r y 85
5.1 Introduction 87
5.3 Normalization 90
7. Internet 124
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Computer Information System
8. eCommerce 144
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I n t r o d u c t i o n to
Information
Systems
Computer Information System
1 . 1 Introduction
customer data, operational data, human resource data, financial data, etc. It is stored
either in physical or digital form. There occurs a need to maintain and manage this
information together for easy retrieval. Thus information systems have become an
Information systems capture the data and make it presentable to end users.
processes in organizations where all physical data is converted into d i g ital and stored in
get the right information to the right people at the right time in the right place and the
rig ht format.
This chapter will discuss the concept of information systems and its influence on
organizational performance.
Define a p p l i c a t i o n architecture
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1 . 2 I n f o r m a t i o n Systems
structured and relevant manner. These systems obtain raw data from the user and
transform it into formal information. The growing need for automation makes
Collect
It includes the process of collecting data from the user or other systems. Data
Store
The second process includes retaining data in a storage unit. It captures data and
allows the user to retrieve it from the storage unit for data m a n i p u l a t i o n .
Retrieve
The retrieval process is used to obtain data from the storage unit. If the user
Evaluate
The process of checking the data format is necessary. Data validation is done to
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Manipulate
After data validation, the structured data is stored in the data source. On the
user's request, the data is then retrieved and manipulated using Data Manipulation
Language ( D M L ) .
Thus, the information system captures data and provides quick response to the
Advantages:
extra net.
Disadvantages:
It creates job insecurity and requires constant updates on emerging tech no log ies.
1.3 M e a n i n g of Information M a n a g e m e n t
systems. The data collected by information systems are organized in a structured and
structure also plays a major role in information management. It controls the information
Information includes both digital and physical data. The method through which
select an effective method to handle data. Retrieval of information should not be tedious
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Software Examples
A p p l i c a t i o n software MS-Office
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
activities.
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1 . 4 C o m p o n e n t s of Information Management
accuracy of data. These components act either directly or indirectly to manage formal
data. Listed below are the components that are necessary for effective information
management.
Communication
Systems
Computer Hardware
system. It helps to collect and present data to the user and it also assists in data
storage.
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Computer Information System
Computer hardware comprises input device, output device, processing unit, memory
storage, and transmission media. The input device obtains information from the user or
other systems, for instance, keyboard, mouse, scanner, etc. Output devices d i s p l a y the
results or information that is necessary for the user, for instance, monitor, speaker,
video camera, etc. The processing unit manipulates data and produces results according
called a database. Data can also be stored in external and portable storage devices such
Computer Software
Software is a set of instructions that instruct computational systems about the task to be
System Software
between hardware components and the user. The user instructs the hardware
platform upon which other software works. User instructions pass through the
operating system w h i c h in turn informs other components about the task at hand.
hardware.
Application Software
It assists the user to perform a specific task using various application packages,
o Custom-built Software
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o Packaged Software
etc.
Communication Systems
These are hardware components that assist in information flow among processes or
Os) but communication devices recognize data in electrical signals. Some examples of
to repeat the signal strength, and cables help in electrical data flow among systems. In
case of wireless transmission, the air, waves, transceiver, and receiver act as a m e d i u m
in c o m m u n i c a t i o n systems.
Database
Information systems collect data in a digital form ( l s and Os). T h e collected data is then
table holds u n i q u e information about an identity. Data cannot be stored directly into the
database.
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Computer Information System
It is important to denote the database structure using Data Definition Language (DDL).
The data stored in a database undergoes manipulation on the user's request. It can be
done with the help of Data Manipulation Language (DML). Some of the software that
assists in working with database is SQL, PL/SQL, ORACLE, MS-Access, etc. Database is
Analytical Database
The contents of t h i s database are static and restricted from modification. The user
can only view the information contents of this database. For instance, contents of
E-Shopping websites are available to the user to view, but they cannot modify its
Operational Database
The contents of this database are dynamic. They are programmed to update
automatically at regular intervals. The user may or may not have rights in
modification. For instance, online live cricket scores on websites are stored in
Organization Structure
specialists, program me rs and developers play a crucial role in information system. The
data. A central authority is needed to supervise data usage methods in the information
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Information System assists in managing the data storage and data flow. They support in
profit and loss, and maintain employee details which aid the organization in day-to-day
activities.
The senior executives obtain data using this system to meet strategic objectives.
EIS Software
Components
This information system provides an external view about the status of a business
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Computer Information System
network. It allows the user to transform data into a structured format and
generate reports for quick review. It also provides accurate and timely details of
Advantages
the same level of workers who use data like summary information, exceptions,
patterns and trends. Some DSS' that assist in decision making are Computer
obtains a large pool of data from the lower level systems w h i c h acts as a decision
parameter.
DeciSion Support
Systems
Input Output
systems and artificial intelligence, decisions are made effectively. DSS are broadly
created for a limited set of data and in data-driven model decisions are made
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Advantages
This system acts as an intermediate among other system levels and also assists in
integrated to form a unified MIS. The information flow among sub-systems should
be easier. The information is also used by DSS for effective decision m a k i n g . Some
Systems, etc.
Advantages
accomplished easily.
..
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designed to assist a unique profession. With the help of this system, review of a
particular task is done efficiently. The system first creates data sets from the data
source. The data sets are then captured using data mining models and relevant
Create Organize
For instance, Feedback System assists in gaining the past knowledge from the
Advantages
o It trains employees within short durations with the help of past occurrences
of threats.
The speed of TPS depends on how information is available on data source. For
instance, in Reservation Systems the user obtains data from database about train
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Computer Information System
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Advantages
1 . 6 A p p l i c a t i o n Architecture
The framework for information flow among application systems is described in the
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Components Gateways
The user interacts with the application system with the help of interface components.
These components are hardware devices that assist the users or a p p l i c a t i o n programs to
instruct the system on data manipulation and retrieval. Based on the interface
components, processes are generated and each process enters into relevant service
components.
The service components interact with the information system in-depth with the help of
the service interface, which interacts with other components of the information system.
If the user requires data retrieval, the service interface allows the user to interact with
the data access components. The user is then redirected to other service components for
a d d i t i o n a l tasks t h r o u g h sub-systems.
Data access components allow data flow between the user and the data source. User
retrieves data for viewing and manipulating whereas, sub-systems request data to
perform data filtering. It is applied through database languages such as Data Definition
Language (DDL) which defines database structure, and Data Manipulation Language
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systems and users to assists data flow. Systems and sub-systems communicate to
a p p l i c a t i o n system functions.
Data that flows among systems and sub-systems are sensitive and should be protected
from unauthorized access. Thus, information security management plays a crucial role to
Application Mo deling
The method in which a p p l i ca t i o n systems are made available to the user denotes
Application Modeling
Conceptual Modeling
It includes details about application capabilities for each application domain and
lists the objectives that are necessary to develop it. The principles that are
Logical Mo deling
This modeling defines the actual way of implementing application systems. It helps
them in d e t a i l .
Physical Modeling
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Application Patterns
Listed below are some of the application patterns available for efficient information
management.
Bulk Processing: it assists in managing systems, users and programs that are
large, in a m o u n t .
Event Centric: it integrates several systems that change with respect to time.
never occurs with these systems. Few IT advancements on various fields are listed
below:
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Organization
communication, etc. are easily maintained. Reports are generated efficiently for
effortless.
Society
Facilities such as, automatic traffic control, Global Positioning System (GPS),
drastic change in the IT sector. Its inclusion in other fields is an added advantage.
For instance, E-Voting supports citizens to vote at any time in any place with high
portability.
Government
permanently d i s c a r d e d . Thus, with the help of database concepts like data mining
and data warehouse, data is managed and maintained effectively. The problem of
Education
Video lectures, eBook and multimedia applications transform learning into a fun
Medicine
Virtual software is used to test the effectiveness of a drug, rather than testing
Engineering
A prototype is created for a product using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to test
its feasibility, before actually manufacturing it. If the prototype is acceptable, the
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required to create a model and reframe it, CAD reduces the effort and cost.
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1 . 8 Chapter S u m m a r y
Software is set of instructions that inform other information components about the
task.
Database is a repository collection of tables and each table holds a unique data
about an entity.
(TPS).
Security.
Logical modeling defines the actual way in which information systems are to be
implemented.
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Software
Systems: Models
a n d Architecture
Computer Information System
2 . 1 Introduction
Software is a set of information that instructs the users, computational systems or other
various programming languages and its effectiveness is based on standards used for
designing. The development stages for software are proposed in the Software
This chapter lists different types of models that are used for software development and
aids developers in selecting the most appropriate models based on their requirements.
Software architecture defines the overall structure of the software and states the
Software architects should possess appropriate design skills and hands-on experience in
They need to be aware of various models and architectures available for software
development.
D i s t i n g u i s h architectural patterns
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2 . 2 D e f i n i n g Software System
form a unified system. Each system has its own structure and boundary. Its
and out of systems and each system communicates with the other systems to perform
the computational task in an effective manner. Fig. 2.2a depicts the structure of a
system.
Environment
System
B o u n d a ry
the system about the task to be performed. It commands and controls the
Software is broadly classified into two types. These are depicted in Fig. 2.2b.
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Application Software
System Software
communication and data sharing among these devices. System software acts as a
with its own behavior and boundaries. Input is obtained from users or other
systems and is processed and manipulated using software. The processed result is
system.
+ -
-
Fig. 2.2c: Software System
Software systems are implemented and maintained through the components mentioned
in Fig. 2.2d.
Device Driver
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Operating System
It is a basic platform upon which other programs or software is executed. It also acts as
a mediator between a user and hardware. Users invoke the instructions which are
through machine level language (ls and Os). Windows, UNIX, and LINUX are some
Utility Program
It helps users to m a i n t a i n the system and supports efficient functioning of the operating
system. Antivirus, Hex Editors, and Boot Loader are some examples of u t i l i t y programs.
Device Driver
the operating system and hardware components. The operating system carries user
coding for developers, software systems are developed using high level languages such
as, Java, . NET, etc. This code is later converted to machine language. ISO/IEC 12207
(SDLC) denotes the steps to develop software. It helps to create, develop, test,
There are six stages that should be followed for effective development of a software
process.
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developers need to study and analyze the requirements of the users in detail. These
User requirements are tested for economical and technical feasibility. Feasibility study
defines the most effective way to implement the software. Economic feasibility describes
the overall cost required for the development of software. Technical feasibility study
Stage 3 : Design
The selection of the software design models and architectures is based on the
requirements defined in the previous stage. Every model and architecture has its own
proposes user interface, and selects implementation methods. The conceptual schema is
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Stage 4 : Code
The user interface and database schema are transformed to operational mode using
programming languages. The connection among interface and schema are coded using
high level programming languages such as Java, C, C+ + , etc. The selection of the
language is done in the design stage. The database schema is actually implied on the
data source.
Stage 5 : Test
The software is tested for its effective performance. It undergoes two processes. The
first is verification, which states whether the software is designed in the correct format,
and the second is validation, which states whether the right software is designed.
Software testing tools are used to test the software. Each took has its own unique
testing methods.
Stage 6 : Implement
After testing the software for its accuracy, it is deployed in the market. Various business
Stage 7 : M a i n t ain
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SDLC models define a standardized format for designing software. There are different
types of models and methodologies that can be selected based on the requirements and
feasibility study of the software. Each process model follows a series of steps u n i q u e to
V Model
-
Fig. 2.4a: SDLC Models
Waterfall Model
It is the first model that was implemented for software development. It is primitive and
follows a linear and sequential flow of control. The entire process of software
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Requirement Analysis
The first step gathers requirements from the user. It is a crucial step since the
feasibility.
System Design
User interface is designed based on the requirements gathered from the first step.
Designing includes both front-end and back-end where, front-end denotes the
design of user interface screen and back-end denotes database schema. Thus,
System Code
It should be coded with instructions that combines database schema and interface
screen to enable users to access the data in data source. It is ideal to code the
System Test
The fully operational system is tested for its efficiency. Testing verifies and
validates the systems' output. A system is segmented into smaller u n i t s , and each
unit is tested for its accuracy. There are different types of testing methods
available such as white box testing, black box testing, u n i t testing, stress testing,
etc. the testing method is selected based on the priority of efficiency needed.
Deployment
The fully developed and tested system is sold to the customer directly, or
Maintenance
feedback from the users. Faults may arise only after proper execution of the
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The control in this model steadily flows downwards resembling a waterfall. There is no
Advantages
Disadvantages
Iterative Model
In iterative model, the requirements are initially gathered from the user and later the
software is segmented to smaller units. The software units are generated based on the
requirements and it is iteratively built before creating a final system. Each iteration acts
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In Fig. 2.4c, the requirements are collected in the initial stage and the system is
generated in three iterations. The developer decides the number of iterations. As the
iteration increases, more requirements are met. A single iteration performs four tasks
namely, design, code, test, and deployment. The system unit undergoes a l l these tasks
and the output of first iteration is passed as an input to the next iteration.
The system unit undergoes the same tasks in the next iteration while verifying the user
requirements. The Iterative model can generate and update an entire system at each
Advantages
Disadvantages
It requires more management and documentation for both old and proposed
versions.
V Model
The process of generating a software system in this model resembles a "V" shape. It is
also called as verification and validation model, since verification is done at one side
of "V" shape and v a l i d a t i o n to another. It is similar to the traditional waterfall model but
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The system in this model is designed in three phases namely, verification, coding, and
validation.
Verification
design, and module design. The requirements are gathered from the user and
the entire system, and the architectural design includes the o u t l i n e of each system
unit. The internal design for every module is listed in the module design plan. It
Coding
that suites the proposed architectural design. The codes are reviewed and
Validation
This phase includes unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and
acceptance testing. Unit testing is performed on every system u n i t to check for its
accuracy. It e l i m i n a t e s the occurrence of lower level bugs. After the system units
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system units may alter the behavior of the entire system. In the final stage, the
unified system is tested through system testing. The system output is checked for
Advantages
Disadvantages
Spiral Model
Spiral model is the combination of the traditional waterfall model and the iterative
model. Each task of the software development is sequentially layered and repeated until
2. Desion
3. """
System
Requirements ,
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Requirements
incremental format. In the initial step, the system requirements are obtained and
each increment the developer communicates with the user to obtain detailed
requirements.
Design
In the initial stage, it includes abstract schema of the system and subsequently it
of the system.
Code
The coding of software units are done spirally, and at each spiral the developer
obtains feedback from the user. Thus at the final spiral the user requirements are
achieved at a h i g h rate.
Estimation
It involves risk analysis procedures and estimates the performance of the software
through customer's feedback. The entry of software to the next iteration depends
on the feedback provided by the customer. If any changes are required in the
Advantages
Disadvantages
The end of the projects is not explicitly predicted, as the spiral may go on
indefinitely.
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Agile Model
The entire activity in a software system is divided into fragments and allotted a time
frame. It passes on iteratively and achieves each activity within a given period. The
working model is delivered at the end of an individual iteration in order to test its
accuracy. At the final iteration, all the user requirements are met. This model is flexible
user. If a user requires any changes, it is achieved at the next phase. This model
requires maximum user interaction, since at every iteration end the working model is
transferred for user acceptance. This model responds to every change a user specifies
Advantages
It is easy to implement.
Disadvantages
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An organization models the outline for a system and decides the format of
communication and relationship among its components with the environment. It also
in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and
Software architecture includes the design framework of a software system along with
the properties and relationship among its units. It contains the communication model
among the software modules, and the output structure for every u n i t .
S o f t w a r e architecture includes the algorithms and data structures that are implemented
for the effective development of software. It decides the protocols for communication,
Software architecture decides the following four components of software which are
Software Components
Structure
Communication
Non-functional
Requirements
Abstraction
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The architecture decides the structure of the software. Software consists of a set of co
related components such as objects, modules, or units. The object oriented design is
design.
database software, etc. The restrictions related to business strategies falls under
The architecture helps to create abstraction hierarchy in the form of information hiding
and data a v a i l a b i l i t y for different users. It decides data access rights for users based on
Architectural Views
There are four ways to describe and view software architecture. These are depicted in
Fig. 2.Sb.
Architectural View
Logical View
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Process View
Physical View
Development View
Software architects should have strong design skills and should be able to perform
sound software engineering practices. They need to perform various roles. Some of
Software architects act as a link between customers and technical team members.
They are responsible for selecting third party components and technologies.
Architectural patterns suggest the framework for interconnection among systems. They
provide the design styles to connect sub-systems and enable communication among
them. Users can select the most suitable architectural plan based on their need. Fig.
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communication media. The client requests server for data access or data
manipulation. The server is responsible for every activity over the network. It
provides the clients with the necessary output. For instance, the web browser acts
as a client that requests the web server for data. The web server replies back to
while cohesion refers to its robust structure. A good layered software design
should have less coupling and more cohesion. It helps to achieve abstraction in the
form of data hiding from unauthorized users. Since there are no dependencies
changes.
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User Interface
Application
Infrastructure
The software components in this architecture are differentiated into reusable and
di s t i nct objects. Each object contains its own data and behaviors. The system is
viewed through a series of connected objects called class. Every activity in the
systems.
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It helps the applications to send and receive messages through one or more
Users
Two or more patterns are implemented on different software units to make a complete
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2 . 7 Chapter S u m m a r y
a unified system.
Software system is a collection of software that forms a system with its own
Operation system, utility program, and device driver are the components of
software system.
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) proposes standardized steps for the
Analyze and define requirements, design, code, test, implement, and maintain are
Waterfall model, iterative model, V model, spiral model, and a g i l e model are some
Requirement analysis, system design, system code, system test, deployment, and
Software is segmented into units and each unit is built iteratively in iterative
model.
Logical, process, physical, and development are four types of architectural views.
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Software
Systems: Design
a n d Development
C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
3 . 1 Introduction
critical task. The efficiency of its output influences other stages in SDLC. It is mandatory
for a software engineer to discern the design skills and be adept at various software
d e s i g n methodologies.
A software engineer needs to follow design guidelines despite the fact that design is a
creative task. The effectiveness of software not only depends on the method selected for
Designing software needs to generate solutions for a problem domain. The designer
plans, creates, devises, and implements the design according to user requirements. The
design plan acts as a blue print for further processes in software development. It is also
This chapter elaborates various design principles and methodologies that are basic
constraints for designing software. The economic feasibility is decided using a model
E x p l a i n software d e s i g n levels
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3 . 2 Software Design
It influences further stages in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and i n c l u d e s the
overall software structure with the interface through which a user communicates with
the software components. It helps to generate a solution for a software problem. A user
forwards the requirements that are to be achieved using different solution types. These
The design is predicted with a storyboard that depicts detailed information about
A good software design is suggested by factors like occupying less memory size, and
and easy to understand since poor design leads to wastage of money, time, and
resources.
depends on the optimized design plan being selected and implemented. The selection
varies according to human cognitive skills. Different individuals may have their own
A design plan comprises solution in the form of modules with low coupling and high
cohesion. Coupling states the interdependency factor among two or more modules. The
other. Cohesion refers to the strength or robustness of modules. The structure of the
The design plan is generated by grouping similar tasks to form layers. This layered
model leads to better clarity as it can be independently reused and executed. Debugging
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The design plan is generated efficiently by meeting user requirements and developing
the plan in effective format. For a good software design plan, the processes should take
place in sequential order. The processes in a design plan are depicted in Fig. 3 . 2 a .
Clarify Requirements
Generate Black Box Model
Plan
wh.te Box Model
Validate Solution
Implernent
Design Plan
Clarify Requirements
requirements. Thus a designer should interact with the user to obtain their
The requirements act as a base to create the black box model. Black box denotes
only the exterior structure of the software. It does not consider the structure of
internal components.
Using the external structure obtained through black box model, the structure of
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Validate Solution
The black box and white box model act as a solution for the software problem. It is
verified and validated to check the effectiveness of the plan. It is done either by
using any third party software tool, or by proposing the inactive d e s i g n p l a n to the
users for approval. In case the user needs any changes, a new d e s i g n plan needs
to be generated.
I m p l e m e n t Design Plan
After the approval of the design plan, it moves to the coding phase where the
The software d e s i g n p l a n s are developed in the three basic levels as shown in Fig. 3 . 2 b .
Architectural Level
The design plan associated with this level defines the structure of the software
architecture. It proposes the outline format of software and does not depict the
the system.
It briefs the components of the software architecture in detail and denotes the
relationship among them. The data flow among different components in the
Detailed Design
It includes both the architectural structure of the software and logical structure of
every m o d u l e within the software. It also denotes the communication path among
the modules.
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
Software is developed using various models and methodologies. These are selected
either on the basis of the user requirements, or the convenience of the developer. Fig.
Top-down Design
The software is initially treated as a single entity and then decomposed to achieve
has to be developed from scratch, or only limited details are known for
illustrated in Fig. 3 . 2 d .
' draw_scene
draw_mountain
draw_sun
draw_leaves draw_branches
Bottom-up Design
This process d e s i g n s the lower level components initially and later composes these
components to higher level components. The same level components are grouped
together, which in turn form the next higher level component. This happens
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Slt!S f,nanc"
Software d e s i g n p l a n forms the basic platform for the development of the software. The
schema developed at the design phase acts as a proposal, based on which the further
stage of SDLC continues. Any flaw at the design stage can create inaccuracy in further
stages and leads to loss of resources, time, and money. Thus, for a good software
design, it is necessary to include design principles. These principles have been explained
below.
The design plan should not be a narrow vision. It is easy to accept any changes that
The cost procured for labor, resources, etc. are very expensive. Thus, the design plan
should be checked thoroughly in the testing phase and comprise reusable components.
The software d e s i g n generated should solve the problem domain up to a certain extent
before the final development stage. The distance between the final software and the
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
The style of generating a schema should be uniform for all the software components.
The structure of the d e s i g n plan should be stable. Any changes or modifications made to
the existing plan should not collapse its schema as robustness is one of the the main
p r i n c i p l e s in d e s i g n i n g .
Every module in the software should follow a layered model that clearly differentiates
the processes. Similar processes are grouped together to form a layer. It helps to
achieve data abstraction and reduces interdependency among layers. The layers should
The d e s i g n plan should act as a replica for the solution of a problem d o m a i n . It would be
more effective if the solution is virtually presented to the users. Here, changes in the
The minute details in the design plan should be reviewed in detail. At times, missing a
The plan can be designed in different ways. But it is important to follow a standardized
The d e s i g n plan should contain all the information requested by users. Missing data may
lead to an incomplete design schema and this in turn leads to poor satisfaction. The
quality of the design plan depends on external and internal factors, where the former
denotes the features observed by users and the latter denotes technical features.
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Software design concepts act as a basic platform for designing software. Thus, a
software designer should know all the concepts mentioned in Fig. 3.4a before
Abstraction
Refinement Modularity
Functional Software
Independence Architecture
Structural
Data Structure
Partition
Software
Control Hierarchy
Procedure
Information
Hidinq
Abstraction
encapsulation. It reduces the information content and retrieves o n l y the data that
Modularity
The complete software system is divided into smaller components or u n i t s that are
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Software Architecture
It specifies the system interface, user interface, and database schema along with
Data Structure
It refers to the representation of data with its semantics. Data stored in the
database should include the constraints of data structure. The structure differs
Software Procedure
component.
Information Hiding
is called information hiding. Each module should be designed in such a way that it
disallows access to its data from other modules. The necessary details should be
Control Hierarchy
It denotes control rank and data flow among software components. It does not
Structural Partition
the software and not its semantics. It is done either horizontally or vertically.
Functional Independence
under this concept. Modules do not depend on each other for its execution. It
should be layered clearly and possess very low coupling for good software d e s i g n .
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Refinement
considering user requirements as input. There are several ways to d e s i g n software and
each differs in the technique of presenting information. Fig. 3.Sa depicts the three
Software Design
Methodologies
achieved for each decomposed problem until it solves the entire problem domain.
Decomposed problems are also called modules. Each of it should possess two
major factors, low coupling and high cohesion. A good software design should
structured software d e s i g n .
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
\ \ I
\ \ I
\ \ I
\ \ I
\ -''-,-'
PROt..:lJREMENT
SALES TEAM LEADER TECH SUPPORT MANAGER PROJECT OFFICE
TEAM LEADER
I I
OPS ANALYST CLERK
I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
L _J_ J
For example, customer, bank, organization, etc. Every object consists of attributes
and methods that uniquely define it. Collection of well defined and s i m i l a r objects
properties of an object from different classes. The design process includes tasks
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graphics
which are called functions, where each function specifies a unique task. It is
similar to structured oriented design with "divide and conquer" technique. The
system provides only the top view for functions and hides sensitive data and
globally. This d e s i g n is easily depicted through Data Flow Diagram (DFD) which
demonstrates the data flow among different functions. Fig. 3.Sd portrays a
SEARCH DETAILS
BORROWER
SEARCH REPORT
SORROWER ANO
LOAN REPORT
DUE INFORMATION
CHECKOUT DETAILS
LOAN DETAILS
BOOK/USER
REFERENCE
USER VERIFICATION REQUEST
REPORT
USER DETAILS
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
Before discussing COCOMO model in detail, it is important to know the three kinds of
Organic Mode
mode. Here, the size of the project is relatively small and the developing team
Semi-detached Mode
developing the software and not familiar with few of its components.
Embedded Mode
Software developed with the combination of hardware and software comes under
detached mode.
The estimation of effort and time in software development using COCOMO model is
Complete COCOMO
Basic COCOMO
Effort= a x (KLOC)"
Time to d e v e l o p = 2 . 5 x (Effort)'
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where,
Modes c
Intermediate COCOMO
The basic C O C O M O model considers only LOC as a measurement metric. But there
are other components that affect the development time. For effective estimation of
i n i t i a l l y uses basic COCOMO model and later includes cost drivers for its estimation
process. Listed below are three main categories upon which the cost drivers'
requirements, etc.
security i m p l i c a t i o n s , etc.
It uses the same formula of basic model but the value of parameter "a" differs.
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
Modes
Complete COCOMO
drivers along with complexity rating such as, very low, low, nominal, high, and
very high. It differs based on the software type being developed and is set by the
project managers.
Personnel
3 . 7 Data Flow D i a g r a m ( D F D )
The pictorial representation of data flow among software components are clearly
depicted with the help of Data Flow Diagram (DFD). It visualizes the data processing
of the entire system and also portraits the data input and output of every components.
There exists wide variety of software that assists in developing DFD for a complete
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D F D Components
Table 3.7a lists the components that are used to design DFD of a software system.
Process
It denotes the manipulation that is performed using data and also specifies the
It is specified using a rounded rectangle divided into two. The u p p e r part holds the
process name and the lower part denotes the member function name.
Data Flow
It shows the direction of data flow among entities and processes. It is specified
using a directional arrow and the details about the data are indicated above the
arrow.
Data Source
It denotes the storage space of data. Data is retrieved or uploaded into the
Terminator
It is also called entity and denotes either source or destination of the data flow. It
either provides the data to the destination, or retrieves data from source
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C o m p u t e r I n f o r m a t i o n System
Fig. 3.7a depicts the context diagram for DVD rental system. The context d i a g r a m , also
REQUIREMENT GENERATION
REQUIREMENT
BILL
Fig. 3.7b depicts the level 1 DFD for the DVD rental system that e x p l a i n s system's i n n e r
view. It can be further decomposed into smaller modules and each decomposed process
cusmMER GENERATION
COMPLETED REQUIREMENT
rNVOICE
PAYMENT DETAIL
INVOICE
OETAtl
BILL
Advantages
It provides easy readability and clarity to the customers without need for any
technical knowledge.
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Disadvantages
development.
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3 . 8 Chapter S u m m a r y
subject to constraints.
The steps involved in design plan are clarifying requirements, generating black
Architectural level, high level design, and detailed design are the three levels in
software d e s i g n .
High level design includes the designing of software components and relationships
among t h e m .
Alternative solution, avoid loop creation, prior solution, uniform design, well
Structured design, object oriented design, and function oriented design a r e three
software d e s i g n methodologies.
COCOMO stands for Constructive Cost Model is used for estimating cost and time
Organic mode, semi-detached, and embedded mode are three types of software
development modes.
Basic COCO MO model estimates the effort and developing time of a software u s i n g
Lines of Code ( L O C ) .
Complete COCOMO model estimates with the help of program size, cost driver
The pictorial representation of data flow among software components are easily
Process, data flow, data source, and terminator are the components of D F D .
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Database
Management
System
Computer Information System
4 . 1 Introduction
of instructions to access this data. It helps to organize the data in a structured format.
In collaboration with the application programs, data is handled and manipulated on the
request of users. It assists users to create, manipulate, retrieve, organize, and update
atomicity, and uniqueness. DBMS provides stable storage and recovers data whenever
needed. Integrating concurrent processing technique with DBMS saves time and the
to a central component used by almost all organizations and hence, knowledge about
database systems has become an essential part for effectively hand l i n g data.
List c a p a b i l i t i e s of D B M S
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from the user in an unstructured manner, it is processed using various data models.
These processed data are stored digitally ( l s and Os) in the database.
Terminologies
The basic terms used in a file processing system are listed in Fig. 4 . 2 a .
Database
File
Byte: eight bits combine to form a byte. For example 01110101 may be counted as
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File: it comprises of collection of same type of records. For instance, Table 4.2b
Database
Student
Teacher
Marksheet
S a l a ry File
File
Finance
Audit File
Fig. 4 . 2 b : Database
An organization can possess multiple databases as depicted in Fig. 4.2b. Data flow
occurs among tables and databases for effective completion of a transaction. Following
are the terminologies used to describe a data relationship and data flow.
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Key Field: this is used to uniquely identify a field on a table. Any sing le attribute
the text.
Process: t h i s denotes the relation among entities or the reason for occurrence of
It comprises three methods for easy retrieval of a file from the database or any storage
devices.
Sequential
The files in this method are stored and retrieved in a sequential manner. It is
stored on devices like magnetic tapes. However, in case the volume of data to be
Direct
Direct access to a file is possible using this method. The data is stored at a known
Indexed
In this method, the files are organized based on the ordered key that uniquely
identifies a record. It allows a user to view the data through different logical
arrangement of records.
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Types of Files
Files are categorized into eight types based on its usage and the content.
. - . .
Master File
same and dynamic master file where the contents changes frequently after every
transaction.
Transaction File
It is a temporary file that collects data about the invoked transaction and assists in
Table File
The data that is most frequently referred during transaction is loaded in the table
Report File
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spooled in the report file and presented to the user for appropriate action.
Backup File
It is a replication of master, transaction and table file that is created for safety. It
Archival File
It is similar to backup file and resides for longer period. It is difficult to retrieve
Dump File
Library File
etc.
Initially, an attempt was taken to automate all the activities of an organization through
traditional file processing. Every task of a department is managed using individual files.
It provides better data management and generates reports easily based on user
requirements.
Fig. 4.3a describes the traditional file processing method used by a college
individually and uses flat files without any hierarchical relation. Account Processing,
Teacher Processing, and Student Processing are application programs that run
with the data resources. There is no collaboration or exchange of data among application
programs. If needed, a user may have to create an isolated program to achieve the
process.
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Account
Teacher Student
Department
Fees Marks JD
Student
Fees Table Marks Table Personal_details
Table
Increase in data quantity and exchange of data among departments causes problems in
traditional file processing. The former leads to a problem of data redundancy and the
latter leads to data inconsistency. Traditional file processing system is still in practice at
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complex task. As the organization size increases with inclusion of new departments and
different activities, it becomes difficult to manage. The problems that occur d u e to this
Data Redundancy
Every activity over a network holds unique files. Similar data is required at
multiple files for completing a transaction. This leads to its multiple occurrences
causing poor space utilization. Since different names for an entity occurs at
different files, it causes poor data control. For instance, name of the student in
Poor Sharing
Since files are isolated, data flow does not occur among files which lead to poor
data sharing. It is difficult to access the data of one file from another. In case if
any necessity arises, a creation of new file has to be made to capture that specific
activity.
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Data Inconsistency
h a p p e n s at one file but they changes do not get updated in other files. This leads
process. For instance, if user A wants to deposit an amount to user B's account
and if the transaction fails in between, the amount is withdrawn from user A's
Poor Standard
This system is less efficient and does not support complex data storage such as
g r a p h i c s , a u d i o , video, image, etc. As the data storage increases, the file structure
loses its organized format. Inclusion of any new activity in the management
Data Inflexibility
Each file is developed and managed using different programming languages such
as C, C++, JAVA, etc. Incompatibility arises among file formats. If the system has
Poor Maintenance
Files are distributed randomly without a central control. It leads to poor structure
and requires more maintenance to organize it. Occurrence of data redundancy and
that holds the data in a well organized manner. Instead of u s i n g isolated files for each
activity, a common database is created and shared throughout the entire process of an
since it holds description about the data stored in it. The users are not provided direct
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U n l i k e traditional file processing, DBMS does not provide direct access to the data in the
database. The end users interact with an interface designed through application
programs such as C, C+ + , Java, etc. This helps in achieving data independence. The
data availability constraints are stated through application programs using which the
data is filtered and presented to the end user. Database Management System
(DBMS) allows the user to change the data format such as defining a new structure to
Components of Database
Columns: it refers to fields which stores similar type of data. For instance, Roll No
Column
primary key. For instance, two individuals will not have same roll n u m b e r s .
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other tables.
Database Manager assists in managing and organizing the data that are stored in the
data source. The structure of management differs based on the database used. The
components of database manager that assist in efficient data management are given in
Fig. 4.Sc.
Authorization Controller
rights of every user who accesses the data from the data source.
Transaction Manager
This module monitors and assists the transactions or processes that take place
Query Processor
u n d e r s t a n d a b l e format.
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Integrity Checker
database. It also checks the integrity constraints that are defined w h i l e creating a
database.
Command Processor
the controls, the command processor transfers the action to other components.
Recovery Manager
recovering the data and ensures that the damage has not affected the database
contents.
Data Dictionary
It is also called metadata which holds data about data that is stored in database.
Database Languages
Data structure and data operations are defined with the help of database languages.
accommodate.
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4.6 C a p a b i l i t i e s of D B M S
Database M a n a g e m e n t System ( D B M S ) allows users to store and access the data in well
organized format. Replacing traditional file processing with DBMS has improved the
efficiency of data handling. Fig. 4.6a lists some of the factors that are achieved through
DBMS.
Stable Backup a n d
Integrity
Storage Recovery
Assist
Complex
Relation
Less Redundancy
Unlike traditional file system where every activity possesses a file, the DBMS
stores data at an isolated location. User can access data through an integrated
DBMS does not allow direct access to the data in database. Instead it uses an
application program which acts as a mediator between user and data. It is also
used to restrict users from accessing sensitive data without authorization. Data
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Effective Sharing
Data are stored in centralized location using DBMS. It assists in successful sharing
standards through DBMS usage. Thus multiple systems can easily access the
database.
Stable Storage
Data storage using DBMS is secure and persistent. Data creation, deletion,
Integrity
With high security standards, the data originality is not lost. Data integrity is
DBMS promotes isolated data storage. It stores the data with high security and
perform.
Some transactions require data from multiple data source. It includes complex
data grouping that is possible with the combination of logical operators and
4 . 7 Types of Database
Database is categorized into three types based on the presentation and structure of
data.
Database
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Relational Database
In this database type, data are stored in the form of tables. Tables communicate and
share information that facilitates in data reporting, organizing and searching. The row
specifies the data of a particular entity and column or field specifies the data of s i m i l a r
type.
constraint is used when a data of one source is referred by another. Complex relations
among tables can be formed using mathematical operators. Relational database uses
over data on tables. Its collaboration with application programs helps users to manage
Hierarchical Database
relationship and also resembles tree like structure, where it consists of one parent (root)
Department
a hierarchical m a n n e r .
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Fig. 4.7c shows a sample hierarchical database schema. It is clear that this database
Object-oriented Database
It stores data as objects where each object represents numbers, texts, and images. It is
data analysts.
The collection of objects is called class. Each class comprises closely related data. This
method. It i nhe ri t s certain properties from one class that are required to be a p p l i e d to
another class.
Data abstraction assists in hiding sensitive data from other classes or users to maintain
confidentiality.
Passenger Train
Passenger_ID Train_ID
Name * * Train_Name
Age Source
Gender Destination
DOB Seats_Available
Fig. 4.7d shows a sample object-oriented schema for train ticket reservation. The class
is represented using rectangular object with its name in bold. The attribute and member
names are listed below the class name. Arrow indicates the direction of data flow or
relationship among classes. The type of relationship are denoted symbolically above the
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arrow (1 for one and * for many). In the above example, it is many-to-many
relationship.
For instance, the Passenger class holds passenger details and Train class holds train
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4.8 Chapter S u m m a r y
File organization hierarchy includes bit, byte, field, record, file, and database.
Ordered key, which uniquely identifies a record, organizes the file in index file
organization.
It leads to problems such as, data redundancy, poor s h a r i n g , loss of integrity, low
h a n d l i n g and manipulation.
Columns, rows, tables, primary key, and foreign key are components of database.
Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML) are two
D D L assists users to define the structure of data and its respective constraints.
database.
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Creating a
Database
Environment
Computer Information System
5 . 1 Introduction
management. Installing a Database Management System (DBMS) alone does not make
any difference. The primary role of a Database Administrator (DBA) is to define the
The environment provided for the database user is significant in data management. It is
the role of DBA to explicitly design database and indicate the relationship among data
processed and checked for its accuracy before storing it in database. There are several
normalization stages that have to be followed for efficient storage of data in a structured
format.
This chapter elaborates the role of DBA along with techniques like, normalization, Entity
relationship (ER) diagram, Business Intelligence (BI) tools, etc. through which an
efficient data storage is designed. With the emerging technologies, the trend of data
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Database design includes the process of designing a database schema which is used to
that assists the enterprise in handling and organizing data. Organizational information
Design Stages
Requirement Analysis
Conceptual Design
Functional Requirements
Requirement Analysis
The database designer obtains the requirements from the database user and
its architecture. This acts as a critical stage which decides the effectiveness of
implemented.
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Conceptual Design
requirements gathered in the first stage. The schema is verified t h o r o u g h l y for its
effectiveness and conflicts among data are identified. The occurrence of data
redundancy is rectified and relationships among data and entities are defined.
Functional Requirements
conceptual schema. The database designer interacts with the organization and
data, etc.
The designer relates the conceptual schema with data model of the database. It
model.
Using the above phase, physical features of the database are specified which
Design Alternatives
Data Redundancy
A good database design should avoid the occurrence of similar data at multiple
places. Data redundancy leads to poor data structure with less accuracy. For
instance, using customer name at both CUSTOMER table and ACCOUNT table leads
to r e d u n d a n c y .
Partial Data
At times certain fields in a table are left blank, this later leads to confusion. Such
fields should be denoted as primary key to avoid the above situation. For instance,
if the database user intentionally had not entered the account number, and there
are customers who have the same name, the problem arises in identifying them.
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Thus the account number field should be made as primary key so that it is used to
5.3 Normalization
a n o m a l i e s listed below.
record.
updation of data at one location does not have impact on the other locations.
Delete Anomaly: after deletion of data, part of its remains undeleted due to
creating separate tables for each co-related data. It identifies each row uniquely
Items Companv
..
INF
Pen Parker
Pen Reynolds
Pencil Apsara
It comprises first normal form and also separates multiple occurrences of same
data to another table. It also creates relationship among these tables u s i n g foreign
key.
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0 5 . Creating a D a t a b a s e E n v i r o n m e n t eBook
2 Alicia Orson IT
3 Adam Smith IT
.2NF
S.No Name Depart. No Depart. No Department Name
2 Alicia Orson 2 2 IT
4 William Hayes 3
It comprises second normal form and also removes columns that are not
.3NF
SID SName Zip Zip City
-
4 William Hayes 45322
dependencies.
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attributes. Data flow and the process that invokes it are also displayed effectively u s i n g
Table 5.4a.
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Symbols Usage
Entity sets
I I
Attributes
0 Relationship sets
Links
((_
Multivalued attributes
. Derived attributes
Total p a rt i c i p a t i o n
f- -
For instance, the relationship model for customer and book entity is g i v e n as,
customer
(primary key)
book
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The customer borrows books from a publication house. The above ER diagram shows
relationship among customer and book entity. The entities are denoted using a rectangle
with each of its attributes listed using an ellipse. The underlined attributes denotes
primary key, which uniquely identifies the entities. The relation is represented using
diamond shape. The line shows the relationship among entity and relation or entity and
attributes.
one-to-one
onetomany 1 .. *
many-to-one *.. 1
l many-to-many
The relationship among entities in the above entity-relationship diagram can be given
as,
Since a customer borrows many books, the relationship among customer to book entity
is one-to-many ( 1 . . *) relationship.
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Advantages
It helps in easy understanding even though the client does not have any prior
designing knowledge.
Database files that are scattered at different locations on network is called distributed
manages database files and allows users to remotely access it on a network. The main
advantages of using distributed database are improved reliability, high scalability, and
better performance.
Some of the difficulties that arise due to distributed databases are complexity in
maintaining integrity.
The accessibility technique for distributed database is broadly classified into two
The a p p l i c a t i o n program of each site on a network uses the same DBMS software
and it provides knowledge to the user about other user's transaction. It h o l d s the
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same schema for similar transactions. Each site surrenders segment of their
IQ
r> \
-
.
(
ccrnmumcenon
Network
_>-_/J
10 .. _
.-
Different D B M S are attached to every site on network where its schema and DBMS
software are unique. Data access to several databases is possible. Unlike the
above method, heterogeneous distributed database does not provide users any
gateway protocols.
Distributed
Database
Client-server Architecture
The user or client requests data from the server to complete a transaction. The
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server checks client's data access rights and responds accordingly with the data.
Collaborative Architecture
This architecture assists in retrieving data for a long complex query from the
Middleware Architecture
It should provide location transparency which enables the user to access data
configuration.
with accuracy.
5 . 6 Database Trends
Systems (DBMS), one of the core parts of IT that is used to maintain data has
undergone drastic changes in recent years. Many changes and new features are
developed to improve the efficiency of database. Fig. 5.6a lists some of the current
database trends that have significantly changed the art of storing data in database.
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Spatial Cloud
Database Database
Bridging
SQL/NoSQL
Database
Spatial Database
It helps to store and query spatial imagery data such as maps, and sensory
arrangement, etc.
M u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l expressions ( M D X )
spreadsheet formulae.
B r i d g i n g S Q L / N o S Q L Database
Every network uses different database structure. It is used for connecting several
Automated techniques are being developed for recovery from damage, predicting
Cloud Database
database associated with this network is called cloud database. It can be either
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automated scaling, less expensive, and better performance are some of its
advantages.
5 . 7 B u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e Tools
Business Intelligence (BI) tools assist in effective decision making and strategic p l a n n i n g
Market research, market segmentation, customer profiling and support, statistical and
profit a n a l y s i s are some of the core areas where BI tools are used efficiently.
Decision making becomes difficult for an organization due to bulk amount of data.
Analyzing data generated by different software is a complex task. Thus, BI tools assist in
It helps in extraction of data from on-going business transactions and provides its status
review. It obtains data from multiple sources of an enterprise and provides an interface
competitive advantages over rivals, and optimizing internal business. Initially, it was
used by software professionals for analyzing reports and queries. With the developed
user-friendly features, they are used by business executives and workers themselves.
BI tools use both past and present business data for effective decision making. The data
visualization software uses BI techniques to design charts and d a s h b o a r d s for easy data
review. It is used in various applications such as mobile BI, real-time BI, organizational
It also plays a significant role in data mining, image m i n i n g , text mining, and statistical
and predictive a n a l y s i s . BI data are stored using hadoop systems. The unstructured data
Apart from business executives, BI tools are used by business workers for testing the
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Table 5.7a lists some of the business intelligence tools that help to achieve better
industrial performance.
Icon Tool N a m e
pentaho Penta ho
Birst
*birst
-
-
bo,nJ BOARD
business lntell19ence
Advantages
Disadvantages
5 . 8 Data Mining
The process of extracting information from bulk data is called as data mining. It is also
defined as the process of obtaining knowledge from data. It transforms the huge
It helps to improve the business performance by meeting its objectives and strategies
and analyzes the data to find hidden patterns and proactive knowledge. It helps in
frauds, etc.
modeling. It is similar to prototype building where a model is built from the previous
occurrence of events.
Fig. 5.Sa shows the detail architecture of data mining and working of its components.
The data mining e n g i n e obtains the data from the knowledge base and passes on to the
pattern evaluation for discovering hidden patterns in data. These patterns are presented
to users through Graphical User Interface (GUI) or passed on to data warehouse for
storing these patterns. The data warehouse is responsible for data cleaning, data
Data cleaning is the process of extraction or removing unwanted data such as noise, or
any discrepancies that affects the data originality. Data Integration is the process of
integrating heterogeneous data and logical data. The process of retrieving relevant
information from the data based on users request is called data selection.
The algorithms used by data mining are very complex. It is difficult to implement since
data are located at remote places. Fig. 5.Sb highlights the issues related to data m i n i n g
strategies.
Data Mining
Issues
Users require different types of output at the same time. However, each user may
A database system holds different types of data such as text, image, graphics,
audio, video, etc. It is a challenge for the database system to handle these data
types and generate patterns from it. Information that is obtained initially from
Performance Issues
To extract knowledge from bulk quantity of data, the mining algorithm shou Id be
more stable and efficient. It should be more flexible to hand le data s c a l a b i l i t y . The
Advantages
banking industry.
activities.
Disadvantages
information.
Rivals make use of this information for reframing their product promotion.
5 . 9 Chapter S u m m a r y
Data redundancy a n d partial data are the factors to be avoided for good database
design.
First Normal Form (lNF) includes the process of deleting duplicate columns in a
table.
Second Normal Form (2NF) includes lNF along with the process of removing
m u l t i p l e occurrences of data.
Third Normal Form (3NF) includes 2NF and also removes columns that are not
Fourth Normal Form (4NF) includes 3NF and also removes multi-valued
dependencies.
(BCNF).
(DKNF).
schema in database d e s i g n .
database, automated data management, and cloud management are the recent
trends in database.
Business Intelligence (BI) tools assist in effective decision making and strategic
planning in an organization.
data.
a n d Networking i n
Today's B u s i n e s s
World
Computer Information System
6 . 1 Introduction
Instant communication is not difficult in today's world. A person can share information
of personal computers in fields like business, education, and banking has increased.
Data sharing is performed by connecting computers that are remotely located with the
help of a network. They play an important role in the field of business to h a n d l e day-to
day decision making. Thus, communication is necessary in d a i l y life and should be done
rapidly and securely. Improvement in data security technologies prevents data misuse
E x p l a i n t r a n s m i s s i o n media
6 . 2 Data C o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d Networking
communicate with each other or among processes, operating systems, programs, etc. to
any two systems are not connected, or are not in a network, communication is not
possible.
characteristics.
Advantages
Files, data, and information are easily shared to any computer on a network.
Disadvantages
6 . 3 C o m p o n e n t s of Networking
Effective functioning of data communication and networking requires the following set of
components.
Receiver: the device or computer that receives the data sent by the sender, it is
Medium
Sender Receiver
Medium
Protocol
selected.
6 . 4 B a s i c Types of Network
Networks are classified based on their geographical coverage. It ranges from a small
distance between cell phones to a large distance or covering the globe. There are four
The systems in PAN are connected up to a range of up to 10 meters. Most of them are
wireless. Any mobile devices can be connected to each other with the help of PAN. For
are connected to printers or any devices that are available relatively close to the device.
The devices h a n d s h a k e with each other and create connection among them. After this
process, data is transferred. Once the entire data packet is sent, the connection is
O PDA
laptop
Printer
network to form a LAN connection. Its range varies from 1 to 2 kilometers. It also
assists in sharing resources within the network. LAN can be both; wired and wireless.
For instance, LAN connects computers in a single room and each computer shares
j
j
j
LAN Cable
Printer
In Fig. 6.4b, Workstation 1, 2, and 3 are connected to the printer t h r o u g h a LAN cable.
Different LAN networks within a city connect to form a MAN. It is used to expand the
particular city is connected to the cable network vendor. MAN also acts as a mediator
between LAN and WAN. Its range varies from 2 to SO kilometers. Fig. 6.4c is a sample
of a MAN network.
MAN
cnvare
Corporate Office
WAN refers to the interconnection of different MAN or networks in the entire world.
Computers located in any corner of the world are connected using WAN for
communication beyond their national boundaries. Internet is one among these types of
networks. It is very expensive to implement and maintain. Fig. 6.4d denotes the
sample of a WAN.
Residence
ll;l- +-
Workstation Government
' Office
Private
Corporate Office
6 . 5 Network Architecture
Network architecture defines the layout of a network. It states the format of connecting
different network components and devices. The message being sent shou Id follow the
and instructs how each component should interact. It is broadly classified into two
categories:
for small networks. Each system or workstation acts as both; client and server. In
priority on the network. The increase in network size creates an overload. P2P is
noted for its scalability. When the demand is more, workstations are easily added
to the network. Information is shared easily among peers. The P2P architecture is
implement. Malicious software like Trojan horse, Virus, and Spyware easily
Client-server Architecture
centralized authority in the architecture. Data and resources reside at the server
side. Thus the client completely depends on the server to perform any task. The
client requests either data or manipulation from the server. The server o b t a i n s the
request and replies with the necessary data. It is also called two-tier architecture.
Unlike P2P, server handles resource allocation and data storage. Fig. 6.Sb
It implements high security and prevents data loss or misuse. It does not allow
eBook
server crashes, the whole network collapses and data retrieval becomes almost
the network. Several servers are distributed throughout the network to handle
Protocols are a set of rules and procedures that lay certain constraints on computer
established. There are different types of protocols that perform unique tasks on the
network. The activities on a network are classified in the form of layers for better
management.
activities in the form of layers. Each layer has wide variety of protocols. Layers included
in this model are Network Interface Layer, Internet Layer, Transport Layer and
Application Layer.
TCP/IP Protocols
---
Trarsport Layer
---
Internet Layer
---- IP PSec
Networl< totertace
Ethernet Tolcen R,ng Fr.ome Rel;iy ATM
Layer
electrical signals and converts them into binary formatted data, etc. It breaks the data
to s m a l l fragments called units. Each unit accommodates into packets and is sent to the
upper layer. The protocols that work under network interface layer are Ethernet, token
(CSMA/CD). It first senses the medium for its availability. If it is free, it transmits
data or it stops the access for a time period to avoid collision. It operates at a
speed of 10 mega bits per second to 1000 mega bits per second.
Token ring protocol passes tokens to every computer connected in the form of
ring topology. If the computer does not need to transmit data, it s i m p l y passes the
token or else it obtains the token and feeds data into it. The speed of t r a n s m i s s i o n
1 5 5 mega bits per second. It is cost effective and widely used in LAN connections.
Internet layer
It is responsible for effective packet delivery. It attaches the address of the receiver
node to the packet which is to be sent. It is also responsible for selecting the route to
reach the destination on the network. Each packet takes a different route to reach the
units. It is similar to a postal system where the packets are addressed and
dropped into the network without a direct link between the source and d e s t i n a t i o n .
Transport layer
It unites same type of processes and passes it to the upper layer. It also performs error
correction and error detection on each packet. At the sender's side, it segments the
processes and at the receiver's side it re-assembles the segmented packets. Protocols
eBook
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is similar to TCP, except that the transmission
g r o u p of recipients.
Application layer
the user. At the sender's end, it transforms original data to coded words called
encryption and at the receiver's end it obtains original data from the coded words called
allows the user to perform services such as sending mails, managing files, setting
authorization, etc. The protocols that work under this layer are D N S , Telnet, FTP, SMTP,
File Transfer Protocol (FTP} defines the standard of file transmission on the
network.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP} runs on server machines that assist in
that are performed on network such as checking for malicious activities, threats,
6 . 7 Types of Topology
The arrangements of computers in a network or the way in which the systems are
interconnected are called topology. Based on their functionality, they are classified into
five types.
Topology
Bus Topology
Computers in a bus topology are connected serially. Each system or node is connected
sequentially through a common cable called a bus or a backbone. The message from a
source travels t h r o u g h the bus and serially checks for its recipient. Once the addressed
recipient is found, the message is delivered. A major disadvantage is that if the bus
crashes, the entire network collapses. Fig. 6.7b depicts the architecture of a bus
topology.
Terminal Backbone Terminal
I
lc:J
Fig. 6 . 7 b : Bus Topology
-
Ring Topology
Systems are interconnected in the form of closed loops in ring topology. Each node is
connected to two other nodes on either side. Thus, communication is possible through
two routes. If one route fails, the transmission takes place through another route t h u s ,
?- i;J I ,
I i;JI
'- 1 ..)
Fig. 6.7c: Ring Topology
Star Topology
architecture. The nodes do not communicate directly. It requests for connection from the
central authority which controls the entire network. After a connection is established,
communication is performed only through authority. It provides high security and easy
scalability. Crash of the entire network takes place if the central authority collapses
which leads to a major disaster. Fig. 6.7d depicts the architecture of star topology.
Mesh Topology
It does not have a standard format of connection. The nodes are connected to each
other in a random manner. If a node needs to connect to another node, a direct point
to-point link is made. This leads to effective and fast communication but is difficult to
; l l;J \
ll;l l;ll
\ 1 l;J /
Fig. 6 . 7 e : Mesh Topology
Hybrid Topology
Every topology has its own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, hybrid topology allows
However, it is difficult to implement and manage. The connection type used on the
internet comes under this category. Fig. 6.7f depicts the architecture of hybrid
topology.
Star Topology
10
-
Bus Topology
Data communication is possible over a network with the help of transmission media. It
Fig. 6.Sa, transmission media is broadly classified as wired and wireless. The twisted
pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable fall under the wired category and in
Transmission
Media
Wired Wireless
I I
The connection among nodes is made physically using cables in a wired transmission.
Two copper wires are coiled to each other in a twisted pair cable. The cable
contains either a single pair or multiple pair of cables. These copper wires are
another shield. An outer plastic jacket protects these cables. Initially, telephone
line networks used twisted pair cable to avoid cross talk and electromagnetic
effective for a small LA N . Fig. 6.Sb clearly depicts the internal components of
twisted p a i r cable.
o,w P,lr
lcket Shields Twisted P,1,r
t
1
Coaxial Cable
the cable from heating. A braided and foil shield covers the dielectric material. The
outer plastic cover protects the cable from damage. It is used in analog telephone
networks and carries up to a 10000 voice signals. Loss of signal strength due to
long distance transmission is a major disadvantage of this type of cable. Fig. 6.Sc
Braided Shield
Foil Shield
A fiber optic cable consists of two glass materials; core and cladding. In t h i s cable,
data is transferred in the form of light waves. The distance between core and
cladding is very less so that the light waves reflect within the cable and do not
maintain. Fig. 6.Sd portrays the internal structure of an optic fiber cable.
"' . eBook
Jacket 900m
Total Internal Reflection
L19ht Rays
Buffer 250m
Cladding
Core Sm
The process of sending data signals without physical connection between the source and
the destination is possible through wireless transmission media. Open a i r or space acts
as a carrier for s i g n a l s . It requires a specific device to send and receive data s i g n a l s . The
signals are transferred either through radio waves, microwaves, or infrared waves. It
requires an antenna to receive signals. Present day cable TV network is laid using this
r
Transmitter
Antenna
r
Receiver
Antenna
6 . 9 Chapter S u m m a r y
computers.
Based on the geographical span, the basic types of network are Personal Area
network.
All the hosts (nodes) in a network are connected to the central authority (server)
in client-server architecture.
Protocols are set of rules and procedures that instruct how to perform every
activity on a network.
Protocols at Network Interface Layer are Ethernet, Token ring, Frame Relay, and
Protocols at Internet Layer are Internet Protocol (IP) and Internet Protocol
Security (IPSec).
Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Group Message Protocol (IGMP), and Internet
(Telnet), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),
(SNMP).
Bus topology, ring topology, star topology, mesh topology, and hybrid topology
Twisted Pair Cable, Coaxial Cable, and Fiber Optic Cable are wired transmission
media.
I T M
UNIVERSITY
ONLINE
Computer Information System
0 7 . Internet eBook
7 . 1 Introduction
Users connect to the internet to share information that is available extensively over a
network. It provides effective communication which leads to its growing need. It is also
called as a "publicly accessible network" where anyone can connect online to provide
and retrieve information. Internet services are obtained through Internet Service
Providers ( I S P s . )
computing, browse products catalogue, and facilitate banking, and much more. Thus, it
shrinks the world by bringing any kind of information straight to the computer and
allows communication access beyond national boundaries. Initially, it was used for
Describe U R L structure
7 . 2 Internet Addressing
resource sharing are possible with the help of addresses that identify the node. Each
node has a unique address over a network. An address range is allocated to a network
and addresses are shared among that node but the same address is not allocated to two
different systems. For instance, the source identifies the destination uniquely with the
32
The universal standard for an address consists of 32 bits that includes 2 combinations
of addresses. Internet addressing universally uses IPv4 called Internet Protocol version
4. There also exists IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6, which is not functional currently.
This notation is easy to understand and memorize. It includes four octets, each of
8 bits. Each octet is separated by a decimal dot ( . ) and ranges between O and 255.
Octet
6
127.89.34.45
Binary Notation
\ I I I
127.89.34.45
Fig. 7 . 2 b : Binary Notation
IPv4 addressing protocol uses two types of addressing modes for successfully providing
Classful Addressing
In t h i s addressing technique, the address space is divided into five classes namely,
Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E. Based on the organization size; the
Classes First Byte Second Byte Third Bvte Fourth Byte Application
0 (BN)
Class A ... ... ... Large orcamaaucn
0-127 (DON)
10 (BN)
... ... ...
Class B Midsize Organization
1 2 8 - 1 9 1 (DON)
110 (BN)
... ... ...
Class C Small Organization
192-223 (DON)
1 1 1 0 (BN)
... ... ...
Class D Multicast
224-239 {DON)
1 1 1 1 (BN)
... ... ...
Class E Reserved for future use
240-255 (DON)
In Class A addressing, the first byte (first octet), starts with bit O in binary
128 to 191 in decimal dotted notation. In Class C addressing, the first three bits
binary notation or any number from 224 to 239 in decimal dotted notation. In
portrayed in Table 7 . 2 a .
Classless Addressing
It is a good alternative for classful addressing that causes address depletion and
allocated to the host that is presently active on the network. The same address is
7 . 3 Types of Address
Fig. 7 .3a portrays four levels of addressing used by the Internet that works on TCP/IP
protocol.
Addressing
Physical Address
This address identifies a host at the network interface layer in the TCP/IP model. As the
packet reaches t h i s layer, the physical address is attached to it. It is m a i n l y used in LAN
and WAN. The address size depends on the types of network protocols. For instance,
Ethernet consumes 6-byte physical address. It changes at every hop. To obtain the
physical address of a particular node, click on Win Key on the keyboard, type cmd on
the search text box, and click on Enter. The Command Processor window appears on
the screen. Type ipconfig I all in the command prompt and click on Enter. The physical
0 7 . Internet eBook
Logical Address
It uniquely identifies the host throughout the global network. No two hosts or systems
can have the same logical address. Physical address uniquely refers to a node. When it
is combined with the logical address, it uniquely identifies the host over WAN. It has a
universal standard for addressing that consumes 32 bits. Fig. 7.3c portrays a sa m p l e of
a logical address.
Octet
6
127.89.34.45
Logical address consists of four octets differentiated with a dot (.) symbol. Each octet is
Port Address
Physical address h e l p s to identify the host, either a source or destination. With this, the
confusion arises in finding a specific host. Since it consists of many processors, there is
a necessity to uniquely identify a particular process port. This is done with the help of a
Specific Address
It is used to identify either the user or the system. It is either an email address, for
www.itm.edu.
A URL identifies the web page over the internet. Any webpage is viewed with the help of
Port Query
_J_
http://www.domain.com: 1234/path/to/resource?a=b&x=y
T
Protocol Host Resource Path
Listed below are the components that define the structure of a URL for any webpage.
Protocol
It denotes the type of the protocol used by webpage. HTIP ( H y p e r Text Transfer
the web browsers through which the contents of a web page is viewed. For
instance, HTIP, HTIPS, and FTP are some protocols available on a network. It
Host
It denotes the name of the domain where the resources are located. It can also be
Port
It denotes the port address which uniquely identifies the port over a network. It is
decimal format.
Resource Path
combination of them which resides on the host. For instance, in the path
Query
done. It obtains the results from the data source. Thus, these operations are
age= lO&location= Mumbai retrieves the data whose age and location matches with
http ://www.itm.edu/home/courses/MBASyllabus?specialization= IT
DNS is used to translate web names into its IP address. Users prefer web names, since it
is easy to remember and understand, but a computer can only understand its IP
address. Thus, the D N S converts web names into decimal dotted IP addresses w h i c h are
again converted into binary notations. The DNS acts in a simple network. If one DNS
does not recognize the IP address of a particular web name, it passes on the request to
another.
The user requests a webpage by providing its URL. The control passes to DNS Client. If
the DNS Client knows the IP address, it replies or else it passes on the request to the
D N S Server. If the D N S Server knows the IP address, it replies to the D N S Client, or else
passes on the request to other DNS Servers on the network. Every Internet Service
Providers (ISP) owns their respective DNS servers. The working of DNS is pictorially
explained in F i g . 7 .Sa.
I I
I
Fig. 7 . S a : Domain Name System (DNS)
Two parties do not have similar web names in the same domain. For instance,
example.com and example.gov are different. Table 7.Sa lists some of the domain
.org Organizations
using hypertext standards. These contents reside at the application server. The user
requests for content through the web browser using its IP address. The control transfers
to the a p p l i c a t i o n server. It consists of Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server and
content database. It replies to the client with content and displays it through the web
browser.
Application Server
Client
Request(URL}
Web
Reply(Content)
Browser
The content is arranged in a standard format using any hypertext languages. Each page
of it is called a web page, and a collection of web pages is called a website. Web pages
contain different types of content that includes text, audio, video files, g r a p h i c s , images,
etc. A web page is either static or dynamic. The content of a static web page does not
7 . 7 Web Browsers
A web browser provides information and resources to users on request. It also allows
the user to interact with the web pages and dynamic content such as data filtering, form
filling, etc. It assists in navigation through the entire content of the web page.
The source code for a web page is viewed with the help of web browsers in H y p e r Text
Markup Language (HTML) format. Thus, it provides a user-friendly interface for the user
to interact with the web page contents. It grants first level security to both web content
and user.
Different types of web browsers are available in the market. Some of them are listed in
Table 7 . 7 a .
Browsers Icon
Internet Explorer
Mozilla
Konqueror
Netscape
Opera
Safari
Firefox
The browsing tasks t h r o u g h w e b browsers can be achieved with the help of the following
components.
The contents of a web page are displayed with the help of windows in web
browsers. Tabs help to view alternative content on the same window but in
another partition. Thus the user switches among different content by simply
clicking on a tab.
W revcntes Q u, )UggesteO )fi es @.I wee )IKf: uattesy ..
Address Bar
It denotes the complete domain name of the current window. If the user wants to
reach a particular web site, the URL is simply typed on the address bar.
Controls
It i n c l u d e s set of controls such as, navigation to first page or last page, refreshing
History
It stores the previous browsing history so that it assists the user in reloading the
prior sessions. The history can be deleted on user's request for confidentially .
--
r
-
--
......,
..u..-...- .
MIPS:/.....,.,_
- ........ U,..ApS....,i.tFirwfoo.,eMo;iBo.... ........-...,.,l)JOM'....... -.....
L ../ U f. ....,.,-Jto,otlfA:OfN<Mlao!XI
tt """"""""''""'r-.-.. -M
S!-MO:&.. ... .
',.,.
oi---""' !lom<- t.<i 1 de7>
arb
--
ll T........
. Ill b,:-t..g,
lt,t( e,. "'1HI
Fig. 7 . 7 d : History
Favorites or Bookmarks
The web browser allows the user to mark any web page as favorite or bookmark.
The web page icon appears on a floating panel so that the user accesses it with
just a s i n g l e click.
I llll GEO c;) CT llo'I LH lili] I) n M lii!f Rcd Loltcr e a d! d1i I:, Rc,c.,rch
Fig. 7 . 7 e : Bookmarks
Cache
Cache is a small storage unit allocated in the hard drive. The browser stores
certain history on cache for faster reloading. When the user demands content of
previous searches, the browser reloads the data from cache swiftly. This reduces
response delay.
h/.,.....btlOlcom/orng/l_rildgii 06/30/20001129:SG _j
hJ/w',wrwebstat.i:om/1mg/boic....1ap.g 02/13/21)001232.17
7 . 8 Search Engines
content on the user's request. The user provides a keyword which is obtained by the
search engines to search. It uses automated programs like bot, or spider that crawls
It uses Boolean operators like AND, OR, NOT to explicitly refine the search process. It
also uses complex mathematical formulae which optimizes search content relatively
0 7 . Internet eBook
Search engines are noted for both; effective speed and better refinement of searches.
Its ranking is based on comparatively close search results to that of keywords in short
time. It differs based on the algorithms used for searching. The algorithms are unique
standards.
Search E n g i n e s Icon
Google
Go0gle
Yahoo
YAEoOr.
Bing
bing
msn msn. .
Ask ,.
Table 7 . S a : Search Engines List
Search engines explore only the source code of the web page and not the animated
content. Thus, it refines the results of web pages that are developed using H y p e r Text
Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). It does not look into
Spider
Log
Keyword
----+ w ----+
--
Refined
Search
JI;
--
Retrieve
Crawl
\
Conteni\
Collection of Websites
Crawl
An automated program, spider crawls every web page and obtains the content
Index
The search results in the first step are logged, based on its relevance priority.
The automated program compares the logged results with the provided keyword
Intranet
resembles a website which is accessible only to authorized users who are employed with
the company. Any unauthorized access is denied through a virtual device called firewall.
Intranet is mainly used to share resources, data, software, applications, programs, and
organization uses this facility for announcements, sharing organization policies and
U n l i k e the Internet, which is controlled by the government, intra net is entirely hand led
and controlled by a particular company's interest. Hence, it reduces paper work and
increases the work efficiency. Staff outside the organization access intranet through
Virtual Private Network (VPN). Communication over intranet takes place in an encrypted
form.
Extra net
It acts like an extension of the intranet where it is accessible outside the network.
Stakeholders have limited access to company data through the extra net. Data
For instance, E-shopping websites allow customers to view product's details but cannot
add or change the product's description. Instead, rights are given to the user to post
High security and privacy is required to withhold confidentiality of the database. Thus,
I_
'
Intranet
-'--.....
Internet \ Server
I_
- <,.. .s; J-_,,J
--
Applocation
...,.,
I_
Customer's 1010
Net,,,'OJt
- Intranet -
Fig. 7 . 9 a : Intranet and Extranet
web pages. It is simple and easy to understand. This language consists of keywords
enclosed between angle brackets < and > called markups or tags. The general
<html>
<head> }
<title> </title> Head S e c t i o n
</head>
<body>
} Body Section
</body>
</html>
Fig. 7 . 1 0 a : Structure of H T M L
H T M L programs always start with < h t m l > tag and end with < / h t m l > tag. The close
The text enclosed between < h e a d > and < / h e a d > tag is displayed as heading on the
web page. The text to be displayed on the topmost bar of browser called the title bar is
given between < t i t l e > and < / t i t l e > . Any text or content to be displayed on the web
The H T M L programs are written on Notepad and saved as < fil e n a m e > . h t m l .
7J Samp!eP.age Notep
<head>
<t1tle>Sample HTML Page </title>
</head>
<body>
Hypertext systems are particularly useful for organizing and browsing
through large databases that consist of disparate types of information.
There are several Hypertext systems available for Apple Macintosh computers
and PCs that enable you to develop your own databases. such systems are often
called authoring systems. Hypercard software from Apple computeris the most famous.
</body>
</html>i
< I I
'"
n,s.,.As -
C)r--
, C-om-,--ff-
,N---.-.-
,-
, -
( ---
, N---o
l-
d-
l s----.r.,
-
,,.S,,,
, -t,_N_":'.
__ l_old------p'f
j. Musi(
fl! Subversion
H Videos
Computer
Nork
Filenam Samplage.html
I I-""'-' I c,ml
The file bears the icon of the web browser that is currently used. Go to that location and
d o u b l e - c l i c k on the file icon, the web page is displayed through the web browser.
HTML P
[ Samplt
+
C Rl Gq w
P D
or or;wzill1 and browsin, throuib lar1c datab Wt coruist of dispanuc t:t't>t.t of ittforma1io11. There arc
Hypcne ssicms arc particularly uteful f
called authoring systems. HrpeiCard software from Apple Computeris the mos1 famoui
To edit or modify the HTML code, right click on the web page and select View Page
Source.
Back
fQrward
Be:load
Seled All
ew Page Source
Thus, the H T M L program is a source code for a respective web page. Any c h a n g e to its
content and structure is done through it. Some of the other tags that are used to
Tags Purpose
0 7 . Internet eBook
7 . 1 1 Chapter Summary
32
Address consists of 32 bits and includes 2 combinations of addresses.
Addresses are denoted in two notations; binary and decimal dotted notation.
addressing.
Classful addressing using five types of classes. They are Class A, Class B, Class C,
Physical, logical, port, and specific address are the four types of address.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) uniquely recognizes the web page over internet.
The components of URL are protocol, host, port, resource path, and query.
Domain Name System (DNS) translates web site names to its respective IP
address.
Web browser assists the user in interacting with the web pages.
Components of web browser are windows and tabs, address bar, controls, history,
Search e n g i n e s are a set of programs that assist the user to search content.
Core activities performed by every search engine are crawl, index, compare, and
return.
Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is used to create static web pages.
I T M
UNIVERSITY
ONLINE
Computer Information System
8 . 1 Introduction
Enterprises across the world require noteworthy technology for effective business
to share information in a timely manner. The immense development and usage of the
To cater to this need a new technique called eCommerce has come into existence. It
Shopping trends have changed and consumers can buy any and every product through
the Internet. Books, magazines, and journals are now available in d i g ital formats for
easy access. This has reduced paperwork and manual labor to the maximum extent. It
effective service.
Define eCommerce
8 . 2 Definition of eCommerce
Traditional transaction states that, it is necessary for both the parties to be present
transaction processing is possible round the clock. It is not necessary for the seller and
The evolution of eCommerce started in 1995 where netscape.com published its first
advertisement, paving a new trend for the business process. It caused tremendous
growth in eCommerce retail sales and reduced paperwork by using techniques like World
Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, electronic money transfer, etc. It transformed
on a g l o b a l scale.
sharing. eCommerce includes all these tasks along with high speed processing and huge
customers are laid easily. Thus, it provides easy communication among customers and
Cross-business integration specifies the method in which the transactions are performed
technological integration.
Whinston, Choi, and Stahl proposed a framework that describes the three d i m e n s i o n s of
commerce. Fig. 8.2a depicts the functionality of traditional and electronic commerce
which is decided based on three factors, such as product, process, and delivery agent. In
traditional processing, all three factors are physical. For instance, purchasing a book
from a shop is pure traditional commerce where the factors, product, process, and
delivery happen physically. Partial eCommerce takes place if a n y one of the factors
eCommerce where processing takes place digitally. If all the factors appear in a digital
mode, then it is called pure eCommerce. For instance, purchasing an eBook from
Product
Virtual
Process
Drqttal
Physical
transactions.
eCommerce Framework
eCommerce had changed the perspective of business handling. Every activity is now
their business into the g l o b a l world which has led to tough competition. To b u i l d a strong
F l e x i b i l t y with
Forward Integration
Innovative Revenue
Collection
Collective
Products' Information
Interoperability
Business operations are handled digitally using the Internet. Since customers are
may differ. The platform on which business operations are implemented digitally
Technological Implication
The platform on which the d i g i t a l operations are performed should accept various
adaptable easily without major changes to the existing operations. For instance,
there arise different types of digital payment systems. Thus, a framework should
be flexible and accept these technologies to provide best service to the customers.
Emergence of new services and business applications constantly arises. Thus, the
changes.
product usage.
Legacy Systems
certain legal policies and procedures are maintained manually through paperwork.
along with its images, video demonstration, etc. Thus, the customer will have a
eCommerce Issues
through electronic mode of business. Though, data accuracy and speedy response is
achieved t h r o u g h d i g ital maintenance of information, certain issues arise that are major
Customer orientation Attitude Fund transfers Uniform commerclal code Acceptability standards
progression. Listed in Fig. 8.3a are some of the key features of eCommerce.
Information
Interactivity
Density
Universal
C u s t o rn l z a t l o n
Standard
Social
U b i q u i ty
Technology
Ubiquity
at all times. Buying and selling of goods is possible at any place such as home,
work, and also while travelling. Thus, the marketspace is extended and
Universal Standard
standards are shared by every computer connected through the Internet, located
remotely t h r o u g h o u t the world. The structure and function of these standards are
s i m i l a r t h r o u g h o u t the network. Thus, it aids to reduce market entry costs that are
Information Density
With the advent of the Internet and Web, the amount of data available to
Global Reach
Richness
trend changed with the introduction of eCommerce. It holds data in the form of
audio, video, image, and text and provides abundant information to the consumers
s i m i l a r to traditional commerce.
Interactivity
as, televisions, radio, etc. It leads to one-way communication between seller and
interact with sellers. For instance, through television, a consumer cannot interact
much with the seller but through Web and internet services, consumers can
communicate directly to request detailed information about the product and can
Customization
With the person's name, age, interests, and purchase history, sellers target
change the product or requires an alternative service, it can be easily done with
the help of eCommerce technologies. Thus, the online sellers study a consumer's
Social Technology
experiences about a specific product with their friends and relatives through the
Positive reviews about the product increase its advancement through which
8 . 4 T r a d i t i o n a l Commerce Vs eCommerce
any restrictions on geographical area and connectivity. Many organizations switch from
8.4a pictorially explains the difference between traditional commerce and eCommerce.
purchase l .c l
L:d"_j -
Buyer Traditional Commerce sales-purchase transaction Seller
.. 001100111100 ..
Send Send
Order
3 Data Availability Data is made available only on Data is available round the clock and
4 Data Sharing It requires multiple copies of data With the central database technique,
communication.
7 Reachable Scale It takes maximum effort to cover a Reaching maximum population scale
Advantages
society.
Organization
Consumers
consumers.
of t h e i r locations.
Society
o Through online business activities, individuals work at home where the cost
o It delivers the product beyond the reachable area such as, rural regions.
o Products through eCommerce are sold in much reduced cost, thus it allows
Disadvantages
eCommerce provides unlimited services and aids consumers with enhanced technologies
available in the market. But, there exists certain limitations that affect the functioning of
Technical Limitations
communication.
challenging task.
software.
i m p l e m e n t eCommerce features.
Non-technical Limitations
o Lack of trust in providing sensitive details such as, credit card number is
challenging.
Business models refer to the methods of connectivity among business entities. It also
future, as well as all core products and/or services the organization offers, or
will offer, based on the arrangements that are needed to achieve its strategic
eCommerce comprises seven types of business models based on the role of business
Business to Business ( B 2 B )
In 626 model, the mediator places orders using the company's website. Business
Supplies
I
I Order Processing
Orders
Website
For instance, a wholesaler orders the product using the company's website. The
company processes the order and delivers it to the wholesaler. They in turn sell the
product to customers.
Business to Consumer ( B 2 C )
This model allows the consumer to directly interact with the organization through its
website. A consumer places the order using the organization's website. The order is
Supplies
I
I Order Processing
Orders
Website
Some websites which provide B2C services are drugstore.com, noble.com, and
beyond.com. A customer places the order using any online shopping website. The
party vendor. Consumers interact with the website to buy or sell products. The
website which controlled by a third party organization, charges the consumer based
on t h e i r usage.
Places advertisement
Receives products
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Receives money
-----------
For instance, Customer A wants to sell a cell phone using websites like quikr.com,
olx. i n , etc. the first step is to upload the mobile details on to the website. The
prospective buyer can view its details through the website. The service of interaction
is provided by the third party through the website but it does not directly participate
in the transaction.
In the C2B model, the consumer contacts a website for a particular service that
Website
Receives products
---------- 'r
Business Organization I Customer
Receives money
-- - - - - - - - - - -
For instance, customer uses policybazaar.com which displays the comparative rates
of loan de t a i l s . The customer can then select the organization based on his budget
Business to Government ( B 2 G )
Government
Government to Business ( G 2 B )
In G2B model, the government uses its website to publish tender notices, contract
Business Organization
The government uses websites to interact with customers to provide online services
such as, passport application, availability of birth certificate, PAN card, vehicle
registration, etc. The main aim of G2C model is to provide accurate and fast response
to its citizens.
8 . 7 Payment Systems
eCommerce introduces the traditional commerce to the digital world. Every transaction
processing the order, product delivery, and payment are performed using digital
advancement has led to multiple forms of payment systems in eCommerce. Listed below
S m a rt Card
- -
Fig. 8 . 7 a : eCommerce Payment Systems
Credit Card
hand held plastic card with a u n i q u e card number and has a black magnetic strip. It is
the bank pays for the product on behalf of the card holder and the amount has to be
returned back in a limited time period. Fig. 8.7a depicts the overall view of credit
card payment.
08. e C o m m e r c e eBook
Is sent to issuer
l
- _)
' '
6 Issuer postS the transaction
merchant's account
Debit Card
the bank only to the customers who own an account. The major difference between a
d e b i t and credit card is the way the customer reimburses the payment. With a debit
card, the money is deducted directly from the cardholder's account during payment
Smart Card
Smart card is physically similar to debit and credit card. A small microprocessor c h i p
also used to store d i g i t a l money in the form of a binary format ( l s and Os). It is less
expensive and can be accessed only with the help of a Personal Identification Number
(PIN).
eMoney
stored, retrieved, and transmitted digitally. Payment processor, digital currency, etc.
are some of the trends where eMoney trend is u se d . It is simple, convenient, and
easy to i m p l e m e n t .
efund
efund or electronic fund is a popular method for exchange of electronic money from
one bank to another. This introduces the concept of internet banking that assists in
8 . 8 E l e c t r o n i c Data Interchange ( E D I )
Both the sender and receiver should use standard format for data exchange. It may
include bus i ne s s documents such as, invoices, notices, policies, order details, etc.
,.
EDI Network
Swvic. Pro,,id..-
PolnttoPolnt Communications
patner
The step-by-step process to exchange digital data through EDI system is listed below.
Dig ital data is transferred again to a normal format using EDI translator at the
receiving e n d .
Advantages
Since computational electronic devices are used in EDI, occurrences of data entry
errors reduce.
channel.
8 . 9 Chapter S u m m a r y
Every business activity is handled digitally and data is a v a i l a b l e round the clock.
Product, process, and delivery agent are three main factors that decide the trend
of commerce.
t h r o u g h eCommerce.
Promoting business activities globally with cost effective services, reaching out to
to Business (G2B), and Government to Citizen (G2C) are the seven basic types of
business models.
Credit card, debit card, smart card, eMoney, and efund are few electronic
Initiatives
I T M
UNIVERSITY
ONLINE
Computer Information System
9 . 1 Introduction
restrictions and allows business operations to take place at remotely located offices with
the help of the Internet. Email, video conferencing, wireless networks, cellular phones,
A user expects operations to be performed on a real time platform with data available
round the clock. This has led to the application of business on the Internet where
customers and businesspersons interact with each other at remote locations. Data
Internet. Thus, application of Internet over various business activities has led to the
Define eGovernance
S u m m a r i z e cloud computing
E x p l a i n M a n a g e m e n t Information Systems ( M I S )
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Alternatively called Transaction Processing System (TPS), ERP assists to capture and
purchase, etc. and with the help of integrated software it records transaction details of
these aspects. It is also called the backbone of information system since the
ERP.
For instance, a customer places an order based on product availability and receives a
unique number for every order. This transaction is uniquely identified using the order
number and any queries regarding the order are solved in reference to it. All these
processes are automatically generated without much manual labor using the ERP
system.
Methodology states the order in which the implementation processes are applied. It
includes a set of methods such as, creating a plan, monitoring progress, maintaining
The schema for ERP implementation includes selection of the approaches mentioned in
Approaches
Business
Big Bang Approach Pilot Approach Phased Approach
Model Approach
shot. T h i s approach has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect is
training, etc. Breakdown of one department affects the functioning of the other
Pilot Approach
this model, all the ERP modules are implemented in a single business entity. The
rectified easily and it affects only the respective department. Once the software is
Phased Approach
In this approach, the ERP is generated for every module in a business. For
instance, ERP is applied for marketing initially and later on developed for sales,
production, etc. At the final stage, all the modules are integrated and a unified ERP
is generated.
generated for the entire organization and moves on with individual modules.
Developers prefer modules that are relatively smaller in size and are easy to
implement. Thus it lowers costs, risks, and boosts confidence among developers
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Implementation Stages
ERP implementation depends on the size and models generated by the organization. Fig.
9.2b depicts the general steps which are to be followed for effectively implementing an
I - I
Deployment
. - ..
Preparation
- . -
Project Strategy
Business Analysis
This is a crucial step which decides the effectiveness of the project. User
requirements are carefully documented and evaluated for its feasibility. Improper
Plan
This includes the generation of a design schema with respect to the user
requirements and design constraints. The prototype is provided to the user for its
acceptance. Any changes requested by the user are implemented at this stage.
Develop
The static design plan is changed to dynamic using any one of the ERP
the Pilot Approach. The design plan is devised based on various constraints such
Integrate
production department that checks the stock availability. After that, it moves to
the sales department which decides the delivery of the product. If the stock is not
Test
important. The report structure and data quantity should also be checked.
Deployment Preparation
Deployment
place either t h r o u g h Big Bang, Pilot, Phased or the Business Model Approach.
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Maintain
When user satisfaction with the transaction system is scaled, the user views and
captures reports generated using the ERP system. If any demand occurs with the
ERP Benefits
Every user requirement is achieved through close interaction with the user w h i c h
The structure of ERP is rigid and flexible simultaneously which easily adapts to
d y n a m i c user requirements.
Business process becomes faster with group work technology and automation of
workflow.
9.3 eBusiness
Development of the Internet has led to the emergence of a new organization structure
market.
Implementation of the Internet and web technology has changed the concept of
traditional business. Geographical area is not a restriction anymore and services are
Internet features have changed the era of buying and selling goods. It allows the user to
buy or sell any product across the globe. Due to minimum paper work, the cost of
business processing has reduced considerably. It also helps to maintain data accuracy
and allows users to access data at any time without interruption. Systems like the
eBusiness shares information in a digital format ( l s and Os). Prior to the d i g i t a l format,
data was transferred in the form of analog signals with varying frequency and amplitude.
eBusiness heavily d e p e n d s on the Internet for all its activities w h i c h makes organizations
In eBusiness, customer order, billing, and payment are performed in a d i g ital format. It
is achieved through web portal that is designed for the users' interaction for data.
,. a<MC -: .,.
Onhne
Sales Auctions Payments web Factory E-Mail Factory
Catalogs
eBuisness tools
MY COMPANY
business automation and assists in easy data updates. The software is designed with
front end and back end systems where the former denotes the user interface designed
eBusiness Security
difficult to discover since the attacker is not actively present. It is also important to
check the authenticity of the customers for pure transaction. Fig. 9 . 3 b shows some the
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Digital D1g1t1al
Certificate Signature
Data Protection
Encryption
Act
Encryption
The information shared over the Internet is not communicated in original format.
Digital Certificate
s i m i l a r to the physical certificate which uniquely identifies and describes the user.
user's identity is validated through the digital certificate. It can also use a simple
Digital Signature
key. Every user possesses a unique digital signature and the transaction is invoked
Data controllers should follow certain principles described in the Data Protection
9 . 4 eGovernance
fast communication, high reliability, and data accuracy. It creates a high impact in the
governance sector that facilitates both society and officials. A society expects
government to function faster and respond with accurate information at the rig ht t i m e .
Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to
reductions. This definition specifies the use of information technology for easy revenue
the public, and other agencies, and for performing government administration
activities. This definition highlights the use of electronic medium in a country's top
eGovernance benefits many entities such as, citizens, government authorities, etc.
It provides better quality services to the citizens with perfect data management.
manner.
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Stages of eGovernance
Technology (IT), computer networking, and communication systems. Fig. 9.4a portrays
Online Data
Interactrvttv
Online Data
Presence
Ccmputenzatton
Computerization
activity. Initially, it was used for word processing and slowly progressed to data
processing.
Networking
O n l i n e Data Presence
There arises a necessity for data availability on the network. The government
O n l i n e Data Interactivity
The need for communication among citizens and government entities is laid down
easily. It reduces personal interface with government entities and increases timely
The t e c h n i q u e of sharing remotely located data storage and software u n d e r the control
of a third party is called cloud computing. Thus, it assists in reducing the data
supervision effort. The organization becomes scalable without changing much of its
infrastructure. It is cost effective and provides huge benefits for the organization in
Model Types
Fig. 9.Sa depicts three types of cloud computing models which differ based on the
functions it provides.
End Users
Saas
PaaS
l a a S Network
Architects
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
run on the cloud and is accessed by multiple users. Installation cost and effort of
server configuration, and software license are reduced. For instance, Google,
Cloud Types
Fig. 9.Sb portrays different types of clouds that are used based on the type of access
Hybrid
Cloud
VMware vSphere
vr-iwere vSphere
Private P1.1bltC
Cloud Clo...d
Private Cloud
and facility increases. S i m i l a r to an intranet, private clouds are laid and open only
to sing le o r g a n i z a t i o n . Private clouds are classified into two types. They are,
P u b l i c Cloud
cost effective, since the payment is shared by multi-clients. All clients operate on a
single infrastructure cloud with different resources, access rights, security levels,
etc.
Hybrid Cloud
The organization can create a combination of public and private clouds. High
security. Programs or applications are run from the public cloud for easy allotment
and scalability.
Benefits
Cloud providers offer bulk storage space so that the organization can store huge
quantities of data. Workload spikes can be easily hand led with this scalability
feature.
Challenges
Cloud computing is flexible, cost effective, and assists customers to effectively handle
business operations remotely. However, there exist certain concerns which are
Management Capabilities
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Data Protection
Legal Issues
Cloud providers should observe legal issues irrespective of any country. For
entity should not be placed outside it. Thus, it is the responsibility of cloud
9 . 6 K n o w l e d g e M a n a g e m e n t Systems ( K M S )
situation before reacting to it. The experiences of an individual build knowledge and the
human brain obtains, stores, and manages them through different techniques listed in
Table 9 . 6 a .
a p p r a i s a l s , etc.
databases, files, etc. which is used for strategic management. It is not obtained easily
and requires special techniques for extraction which is done through the help of
Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). Therefore, KMS deals with the definition,
Table 9.6b depicts some of the tools used for knowledge management.
www.actiontech.com
www.vmark.com
www.semio.com
www.infoseek.com
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
K M S Architecture
Fig. 9.6b shows the processes that are included in knowledge management system.
Knowledge
Delivery
Fig. 9 . 6 b : K M S Architecture
Knowledge Identification
At the initial step knowledge is defined and identified for further processing. The
scope and category of knowledge is defined. The next step includes the process of
Knowledge Generation
Knowledge Delivery
be h i g h l y secure.
9 . 7 M a n a g e m e n t Information Systems ( M I S )
hardware and software, manual procedures for analysis, planning, control and
MIS
Decision M.iking
Feedback
serrormance
Data is obtained and transformed to a formal structure which is used for decision
making. Decisions are then generated and implemented using the Decision Support
Objectives
enhanced way. It also obtains potential information from business processes. Listed
below are some of the objectives that are to be achieved through MIS.
Data Capture: obtains internal and external data which decides the performance
calculation, etc.
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
Data Distribution: it stores data at remote locations for easy accessibility to the
user.
Characteristics
and h i g h cohesion.
structured information.
Decision Support Systems (DSS} helps to perform effective decisions and also
validates its performance. The problem parameters are utilized for evaluation and it is
summarizes the objectives of a problem and the solution varies among different
systems.
The process of decision making is broadly classified into programmable and non
computer components such as, input devices, output devices, database, and software
require complete user involvement to constantly check the decision cycle process.
-+ O U T P U T
DSS does not provide decisions directly instead, it assists decision makers by providing
information that is useful for decision making. The information is provided until the
Types of DSS
Fig. 9.Sb shows five types of DSS which is used for effective decision m a k i n g .
Information Analysis
Systems
Accounting Systems
Status I n q u i r y Systems
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
well structured and can be improved with the help of data processing tools and
business rules. Cash flow analysis, inventory analysis, and personal inventory
This system analyzes data from data sources and generates reports which assist
research analysis, sales analysis, and accounts receivable systems are some
Accounting Systems
This system assists indirectly in the decision-making process which monitors the
status and performance of business and its processes. The core of the system
includes data processing and report generation. Factors like cash, inventory,
Models of DSS
Fig. 9.Sc shows three DSS models which are categorized based on its usage in
DSS Models
Behavioral Models
This model analyzes the behavior of decision variables and its relationships which
The parameters or variables that predict business trendsetting are studied through
principles are called management science models. Certain management rules act
systems are easily converted to decision support systems. For instance, budgetary
material management. It can either be used directly into the decision design or
t h r o u g h management principles.
These are mathematical models that represent real time business problems in
achieved through various mathematical methods such as, set theory, calculus,
matrix a l g e b r a , probability, etc. The operation research models are used to obtain
optimum solutions for problems. A problem that does not provide solution t h r o u g h
9 . 9 Customer R e l a t i o n s h i p Management ( C R M )
business executives and customers which helps effective progression of business. It also
and promotion. Once expectations put forth are met, customer satisfaction is achieved
t h r o u g h constant interaction.
Thus, CRM assists in interaction with customers and uses various tech no log ies to
maintain the relationship. The main need for CRM is to provide complete fulfillment of
relationship between customers and sellers and provides comfort, happiness, and
fulfillment.
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
effective C R M . CRM d i s p l a y s status of the business and constraints for meeting customer
needs. The CRM software helps to track and monitor customer contacts and supports
information which is shared among departments internally. The three key areas where
information is shared are front office operations, business relationship, and back office
operations.
Fig. 9.9a lists five CRM modules that are used to implement customer interaction and
Sales I n t e l l i g e n c e
CRM Approaches
CRM is effectively implemented based on the following two models mentioned in Fig.
9.9b.
CRM Models
Data-driven C R M Model
This model decides the process of building CRM strategies based on the customers'
past data from data source. This data is obtained and analyzed based on which
management decisions are made. These principles are then implemented on the
Process-driven C R M Model
information.
With the development of the Internet and electronic technologies, CRM has made a
tremendous transfiguration to electronic CRM (eCRM). Online and round the clock
service are provided through eCRM. Customer intelligence which is defined as deriving
data about customers are implemented through online data mining tools. Evaluation,
analysis and interpretation of customer interactions are laid easily. It provides value
added experience to customers through various channels such as, call centers, ATM, self
09. N e w IT I n i t i a t i v e s eBook
9 . 1 0 Chapter S u m m a ry
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) assists to capture and store transaction data
of an enterprise.
Big bang, pilot, phase, and business model are ERP implementation approaches.
The development of the Internet has led to the emergence of a new organization
Faster communication, high data reliability, and quick response to citizens are
t h r o u g h eGovernance.
The technique of sharing remotely located data storage and software under the
Clouds are categorized into three types such as, public, private, and hybrid clouds.
Knowledge Management ( K M ) .
decision m a k i n g .
Decision Support Systems (DSS) helps to perform effective decisions and also
accounting system, and model based system are the five different types of D S S .
The DSS model is categorized into three types such as, behavioral, management
business.
CRM package includes sales force automation, analytical CRM, sales intelligence,
Electronic CRM refers to implementation of CRM using the Internet and electronic
Measures
I T M
UNIVERSITY
ONLINE
Computer Information System
1 0 . 1 Introduction
Security is a major prospective for every activity over a network. Transactions are
possible at any corner of the world using Internet. Confidential and sensitive information
development of in-built security features in web browsers, search engines, web sites,
etc.
"Prevention is better than cure", thus, predicting possible occurrences of risks and taking
the rig ht action at the rig ht time is preferred over recovery from data loss. It is
Various available IT laws monitor every online activity and the same is also applicable
Security is required to protect physical and digital data. Every transaction on the
Internet is handled digitally. Various techniques and tools are available on the market
which can be used to achieve high security. This chapter elaborates various security
List security p r i n c i p l e s
Define cryptography
1 0 . 2 Types of Attacks
resources is called an attack. The person or device that assists in digitally attacking a
Fig. 1 0 . 2 a elaborates the different types of attacks which are categorized based on the
Attacks
Content
Traffic Scrutiny
Observation
Message
Deception Replay Repudiation
Modification
Passive Attacks
In t h i s attack, data on a computer or its resources are only viewed and are not altered
by the attacker. The m a i n objective is to obtain the information that is being shared on a
Content Observation
The attacker obtains and observes messages that are being transmitted on the
on the network and this creates a privacy breach. For instance, an intruder illegally
observes a product's details that are viewed or shopped by any individual. Thus,
using these details, gullible buyers are lured by posing attractive discounts which
Traffic Scrutiny
In this type of attack, the attacker simply monitors the communication pattern and
the message length which occurs on the network. For instance, an intruder illegally
details that are used in a network such as, network architecture, topology,
protocols, etc.
A passive attack is very difficult to detect as the attacker is not active. The solution to
avoid this type of attack is to encrypt the entire process on the Internet, so that only
Active Attacks
In active attacks, the computer resources are attacked and altered. It leads to serious
problems and is very difficult to recover. Active attacks are classified into five types.
They are,
Deception
Replay
A particular process is captured from the network and is replayed multiple times
which causes network overload. It crashes or slows down the entire network. For
replicates it infinite times to slowdown the network. If the network cannot handle
Repudiation
Here, communication takes place between a sender and receiver. The repudiation
denies receiving the message. For instance, a sender sends an e-payment and
later denies sending it or the receiver denies receiving the e-payment and may
request it a g a i n .
Message Modification
category. The attacker captures data from the sender modifies it and sends it to
the receiver. Both, the sender and the receiver are unaware about the loss of data
attacker modifies it to 10000 by adding an extra zero, this poses as a huge loss
to the customer.
collapsing the network. For instance, an attacker may try to login with a random
username and password, but fails. The system may detect the activity as a threat
and block the user from intra net. At a later time, even though an authorized
customer provides correct username and password, he will be denied access due
10.3 P r i n c i p l e s of Security
Availability
Confidentiality
It denotes that only the intended sender and receiver of a message should be able
to access it. It should not allow any unauthorized person to view the contents of
C gets access to the message and views it. Thus confidentiality is broken among
a network.
block.
from traffic a n a l y s i s .
Integrity
The o r i g i n a l i t y of the message should remain same till it reaches the receiver. If
the attacker modifies the data before the receiver receives it, then data integrity is
user C during transmission. User C alters the message before placing it over
systems.
Authentication
It denotes the proof of identity with the help of which an individual is provided
access rights. Authentication credentials decide the scope of access. For instance,
if user A wants to send a message to user B, user B's identity is checked whether
it's really user B or someone impersonating. The simple method to apply this
Non-repudiation
Some situations occur where a user initially sends a message and denies it later.
Thus, non-repudiation helps to prove such denials. For instance, user A sends an
Access Control
For instance, a student has less access control compared to teachers. They are not
Availability
Data and services should be available to authorized users at all times. Due to
network. For instance, intranet details of a company are to be hidden from the
The solution for passive attacks is to encrypt the original text or message. The process
The va r i a bl e a p p l i e d to perform the technique for encoding and decoding is called a key.
+
Fig. 10.4a: Cryptology
The sender changes the o r i g in a l message to a coded text using different techniques.
This coded text is then sent to the receiver, who in turn changes the coded text to the
original text. The techniques used for coding and decoding should be known only to the
sender and receiver. If the attacker tries to obtain data d u r i n g transmission, it would be
10.4b and Fig. 10.4c pictorially depict the encryption and decryption process,
respectively.
Original Coded
Message Message
Hello 4DffOJ,
World (+wsV
Coded Onginal
Message Message
0
4Dff Ai Hello
(+wsV World
Key
Fig. 10.4d depicts the cryptographic techniques which are classified based on the
n u m b e r of keys used.
Cryptography
If the same keys are used at the sender and receiver end, then it is called as
source to protect confidentiality. The attacker can decode and change data
illegally, only if the key is revealed. This cryptographic type is easy to implement.
For instance, Twofish, Serpent, AES, IDEA are algorithms that use symmetric key
I'\
Key Key
In asymmetric key cryptography, two different keys are used at the sender and
receiver side to encode and decode, respectively. Each party holds a pair of keys,
a Public Key and a Private Key. A Public key is used to encode and is shared with
all users whereas a private key is used to decode and is kept secret. For instance,
user A uses the public key of user B to encrypt the message and sends it. User B
uses h i s own private key to decode the encoded message. RSA, EIGamal, Cramer
Shoup are algorithms that use asymmetric key cryptography. Fig. 10.4f portray
n
a
ft ;
Receiver's Receiver's
1 0 . 5 Digital Signatures
The non-repudiation, one of the security principles is achieved with the help of d i g i t a l
signatures. This helps to identify and accredit the correct sender. It has major
significance in Web commerce. In most online trading and banking activities, the
has a legal status u n d e r the Information Technology (IT) law. For instance, if a customer
A wants to transfer money to customer B, he informs the bank by attaching his d i g ital
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Computer Information System
-lliiliiilHl
l lll
: f-----ill
i fiilhliiIll--
Sender Receiver
Sender's Sender's
The usage of a d i g i t a l signature is portrayed with Fig. 10.Sa. In digital signature, the
sender encrypts the message using its own private key. It is contradictory to the
asymmetric key cryptography. The coded message is decrypted using the sender's
public key. Since the sender's public key is known to all, it does not achieve
For instance, if customer A sends a message, encrypting with his private key, the
receiver can decrypt that coded message with A's private key o n l y . It helps to achieve
Another added advantage is that it helps to achieve the non-repudiation principle. For
instance, if the message is decrypted only with A's public key. If customer A denies
sending the message, then receiver can prove by decrypting it with A's p u b l i c key where
Process
The sender uses a s i g n i n g algorithm and signs the message. The data and signature are
sent to the receiver. The receiver uses the verification algorithm to verify the signature,
sent by the sender. If the result is true, the message is accepted, else rejected. This
-
Sender
-
Receiver
Message Message
Message, Signature
Key-only attack: with the help of a public key, the attacker tries to forge a
signed by the sender. For instance, Mr. X, an attacker holds documents that were
illegal content on the pretext of legal content. For instance, Mr. X forges Mr. Y's
signature by forcing him to sign on a document which he wants to use for illegal
activities.
1 0 . 6 Security Protocols
eDraft, and digital money are possibilities of payment through online transactions. Thus,
SET is a security protocol which is used to monitor and protect d i g i t a l transactions. Fig.
Merchant
- , - Ji
Card holder
Internet
Certificate
Issuer"
,_,
Payment
network
-- Acquirer
Payment gateway
It was first implemented through Visa, MasterCard, etc. It provides the option of a
The customer should posses and uses an SET-enabled web browser to access Visa
or MasterCard account
A d i g ital certificate is provided to the customer that can be used for on line
Bank also issues its d i g i t a l certificate which holds bank's p u b l i c key and merchant's
The customer's browser then receives the merchant's dig ital certificate which is
Browser places the order and encrypts it using merchant's public key and also
The encrypted payment is sent to the bank that checks for the merchant's v a l i d i t y
The confidentiality principle in email is achieved through PGP protocol. The message is
sent among users, in a coded format. The sender encrypts the original message using
the receiver's public key. The receiver's private key is used to decrypt them message at
the receiver e n d . Fig. 10.6b pictorially depicts the working of PGP protocol.
Sende,-'s Receive,-'s
('\
- - '@:,II
Encrypted File
Reeerver's Sender's
,. ('\
a Decrypt File
The keys are password protected and shared among users on the network. Thus, the
authorized user can alone access the key and decrypt the message. PGP is more secure,
since it uses two level securities, one in encrypting the message w h i c h is to be sent and
the other, encrypting the key which is used to code the message.
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Computer Information System
Listed below are the steps to be followed for including PGP security features.
Download any PGP tool available in the market, such as iGolder, G n u P G , etc.
Obtain public keys from contacts which are used for encryption before sending the
message.
Thus, at the receiver end, the private key is used to decrypt the message.
The process of sending messages through e-mail is secured using this protocol. It is
included by default in modern web browsers. It helps to identify the correct sender and
sends messages in an encrypted format. Non-repudiation and confidentiality are the two
Enterprise
Me55aging
server
Recipient's computer
I
Server that hosts
5/MIME Certificates
In Fig. 10.6c, the mobile device sends data which reaches its enterprise server. It is
responsible to check the validity of the sender through its 5/MIME server. If the sender
5/MIME is retrieval of past mails. Since every mail is encrypted, searching mails based
on a keyword becomes d ifficu It. The outgoing mail is scanned for presence of viruses
and then encrypted, but it is difficult to scan incoming 5/MIME mails. 5/MIME provides
mail in a readable format only to sender and receiver. Thus, on the intranet, the
organization cannot be attached as a third party. It raises legal issues in monitoring the
communication s t a n d a r d .
transactions and shares sensitive information. Thus security is much more needed to
m a i n t a i n confidentiality.
There exists a padlock before the URL in the address bar which denotes that the web
site is secured using SSL protocol. Thus, transaction among customers and SSL
protected web sites are encrypted which provides high confidentiality. It provides
security to credit card transactions, system logs, sensitive information, and webmail,
connection between email client and email server, and transferring files. It also assists in
1 0 . 7 I n f o r m a t i o n Security Management
In Internet, every transaction is done through digital data. It acts as a critical resource
for an individual. Since eBusiness and eCommerce are entirely performed on digital
Management System (ISMS) solely performs the task for securing information and
Policy
terms or rules that are to be achieved to handle information security. This step
Scope
Policies designed in the first step are checked for its scope. It should also confirm
Risk Analysis
The company that plans security management should know the possible risk
factors. Confidentiality of the information and the method used to share matters
the most when maintaining security. The probability of risk factors should be
occurrence of risks.
Risk Measures
It is important to measure risks that are possible to occur in every situation. Each
risk listed at the analysis stage should be measured based on how critical it is. It
helps to decide the risk solution which is applied on the occurrence of risks. It also
decides the process of designing automated machines that immediately predicts its
Execute Measures
Each risk holds many solutions which are selected and executed based on certain
requirements such as, cost, time, efficiency, etc. These measures are calculated
Control
It informs every online task to a concerned central authority. They are information
manager, information analysts, and information officer. The physical and logical
Principles of ISMS
The effectiveness of ISMS mainly depends on risk analysis, risk measures, execute
Integrity: The data sent by the sender should reach the receiver without any
Availability: Data should be available at the right time with the r i g h t scope to an
individual.
Confidentiality: Data viewing rights should be given only to the sender and
receiver.
Implementation
to any organization.
organization are described and reviewed under this section. It should i n c l u d e every
organization.
organization, is listed in the hierarchy and its control measures are also listed.
users carefully.
under this section. It is used to standardize the process of ISMS and lay
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