MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO DATABASES AND DATABASE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Information is required in decision making and this information is stored in database
for operating which a database management system is required.

Data is collection of raw facts that can be recorded and have some implicit
meaning for the user.
System is a set of operating elements working for a common objective.
Database is an integrated collection of well defined data and information, centrally
controlled in all aspects, created and stored in a typical structure for an
organization.
Database Management System or DBMS is a collection of programs that
enables the users to create, maintain and manage a database of an organization.
The DBMS is hence a general purpose software system that facilitates processes of
defining, constructing, manipulating and sharing databases among various users
and applications.
Cylindrical representation is the format of database.
DBMS is the medium through which the users interact with database.
File system

Limitations –
 Concurrent access anomalies
 Non-security
 Data redundancy and data inconsistency
 Integrity problems
 Difficulty in accessing of data

Elements of a database –

 Entities – Basic unit which is a thing in real world. (Noun is an entity in terms
of database.)
 Entity Set – Group of similar objects is called entity set. (E.g. - Set of Student
Names)
 Attribute – Properties that characterize and describe an entity set
 Relationship – Association between entities is called relationship
 Table – Table is the structure in which we store data. Primary unit of storage
of data in database

Advantages of DBMS –

One of the main advantages of using Database system is that the organization can
exert, via Database Administrator, centralized management and control over data.

 Redundancy control – Centralized control of data by the DBA avoids

unnecessary duplication of data and effectively resources the total amount of
 data storage required. It also eliminates the extra processing necessary to
trace the required data in a large mass of data.
 Data Integrity – Centralized control can also ensure that adequate checks
are incorporated into the DBMS to provide data integrity. Data integrity
means that the data contained in the database is both accurate and
consistent.
 Data Sharing – A database allows the sharing of data under its control by
any number of applications, programs or users.
 Data Security – Confidential data must not be accessed by unauthorized
person. The DBA, who has the ultimate responsibility for the data in the
DBMS, can ensure that proper access procedures are followed, including
proper authentication schemas for access to the DBMS and additional checks
before permitting access to sensitive data. Different levels of security could
be implemented for various types of data and operations.
 Conflict Resolution – DBA resolves the conflicting requirements of various
users and applications. In absence, the DBA chooses the file structure and
access method to get optimal performance for the response critical
application while permitting less critical operations to continue to use the
database, with a relatively slower response.
 Data Independence – Data independence is advantageous in the database
environment since it allows for change at one level of the database without
affecting other levels.
Data independence is of two types –
 Logical data independence
 Physical data independence

Logical data independence is more difficult to achieve than physical data

independence. Since application programs are heavily dependent on the
logical structure of the data they access.

 Logical Data Independence – It is the capacity to change the

conceptual schema without having to change external schema or
application programs.
 Physical Data Independence – It is the capacity to change the
external schema without having to change the internal schema.

The Three Schema Architecture –

Each view level is described by a schema. Schema is an outline or a plan that
describes the records and relationships existing in the view. The overall design of
the database is called as a database schema. A database schema includes such
information as –
 Characteristics of data items such as entities and attributes
 Logical structure and relationships among those data items
  Formal storage representation
 Integrity parameters such as physical authorization and backup policies

The Internal Schema – It describes the physical storage structure of the database.
It indicates how data will be stored and describes the data structures and access
methods to be used by the database.

The Conceptual Schema – It describes the structure of whole database for a

community of users. It hides the details of physical storage structure and
concentrates on describing entities, data types, relationships, user operations and
constraints. There is only one conceptual schema per database. It is also called as
global view.

The external schema – It describes the part of the database that a particular user
group is interested in and hides the rest of the database from that that user group.
Any number of user groups may exist for a given conceptual schema.

Mapping – The process of transforming request and result between levels is called
as mapping.

Example of a database (with a conceptual Data Model)

Mini world for the example – part of the university environment

Some mini-world entities –

 Students
 Courses
 Sections
 Departments
 Instructors
The above could be expressed in the Entity-Relationship data model.

Some mini world relationships –

 Sections are of specific Courses
 Students take Sections
 Instructors teach Sections
 Courses are offered by Departments
 Students major in Departments
The above could be expressed in the Entity-Relationship data model.
Main characteristics of database approach

 Self-describing nature of a database system – A DBMS catalog stores

the description of the database. The description is called metadata. This
allows the DBMS software to work with different databases.

 Insulation between program and data – This is called program – data

independence. Allows changing data storage structures and operations
without having to change the DBMS access programs.

 Data Abstraction – A data model is used to hide storage details and

present the users with a conceptual view of the database.

 Support of Multiple views of the data – Each user may see a different
view of the database, which describes only the data of interest to that user.

 Sharing of data in multi user transaction processing – Allowing a set of

concurrent users to retrieve and to update the database. Concurrency control
within the DBMS guarantees that each transaction is correctly executed or
completely aborted. OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is a major part of
database applications.