Databases

USING MICROSOFT ACCESS AS A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)

 How do I succeed in this module?

 Do all the allocated practicals for the module

 Practical used to test your understanding of the material
 Hands-on module:
 This course has a practical exam
 You have a very high probability of doing well in the module if you complete
your practicals on your own
 Available resources for the module:
 Notes and slides on RUConnected
 Lecturer & tutors
 Internet – google, YouTube, whatever makes your life easier
 Objective of this Lecture

 By the end of this lecture you should have an understanding of:

 A Timeline of Database History
 Explain what a database management system is?
 Understand why RDBM is essential
 Know different types of model
 Understand the difference between a relational model and a relational database
 Essential features of a relational database :- primary, key, foreign key, attribute, instance
 Common database operations
 A Timeline of Database History

 1960s : Computerized database started in the 1960s, when the use of computers became a more cost-effective option
for private organizations
 Charles W. Bachman designed the Integrated Database System, the “first” DBMS.
 1970s:Two major relational database system prototypes were created between the years 1974 & 1977
 Ingres used a query language known as QUEL
 System R used the SEQUEL query language
 1976: A new database model called Entity-Relationship, or ER, was proposed by P. Chen this year.
 1980s: Structured Query Language (SQL) became the standard query language - read it like “sequel”
 Relational database systems became a commercial success
 A Timeline of Database History

 Early 1990s: new client tools for application development were released
 Oracle Developer, PowerBuilder, VB, and others
 Mid 1990s: Advent of the Internet - Average desktop users began to use client-server database systems to access
computer systems that contained legacy data.
 Late 1990s: Rise in demand for Internet database connectors, such as Front Page, Active Server Pages, Java
Servelets, Dream Weaver, ColdFusion, Enterprise Java Beans, and Oracle Developer 2000
 2000s:New interactive applications were developed for PDAs, point-of-sale transactions, and consolidation of
vendors
 Today: databases are everywhere and are used to enhance our day-to-day life
 From personal cloud storage to predicting the weather, many of the services we utilize today are possible due to databases
 Potential Alternatives to Databases?

 Spreadsheets – Tables, Calculations, Reports, Filters etc BUT

 Have Huge Setbacks:
 Very slow to load data and clumsy when big
 Only work well on fewer tables – imagine 1000 tables
 Frustrating to work with - No easy way to combine data from multiple table
 This calls for databases because:
 They offer way to structure more complex data
 Able to relate different tables
 Able to construct complex queries and reports
 What is a Database?

 Data is a collection of a distinct unit of information

 A database is an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a
computer system OR
 A collection of information that is organized so that it can be easily accessed, managed and updated
 A database is a systematic collection of data
 An organized collection of structured data to make it easily accessible, manageable and update
 The main purpose of the database is to operate a large amount of information by storing, retrieving,
manipulating and managing data.
 Examples: students records, financial records, folders in your documents, library of books/ movies, shopping
list, catalogue,
 More on Databases

 Websites :– E-Bay, Amazon, Takealot, banks (account holder details & transactions & credit records)
 Airlines use databases to store and access information about flight schedules and reservations
 Supermarkets point of sale
 Forensics
 Issues of privacy & Security

 The integrity and privacy of data are at risk from unauthorized users, external sources listening in on the network,
and internal users giving away the store
 Data Tampering - an unauthorized party on the network intercepts data in transit and modified or viewed it
 Eavesdropping and Data Theft - information such as credit card numbers can be stolen
 Falsifying User Identities
 Password-Related Threats
 Unauthorized Access to Tables and Columns - database may contain confidential tables, or confidential columns in a table,
which should not be available indiscriminately to all users authorized to access the database
 Unauthorized Access to Data Rows - Certain data rows may contain confidential information which should not be available
indiscriminately to users
 Lack of Accountability
 Issues of privacy & Security

 Who is collecting information about you?

 How are they doing it?
 What are they going to do with it?
 What is Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000?
 Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (or PAIA; Act No. 2 of 2000) is a freedom of
information law in South Africa. It gives the constitutional right of access to any
information held by the State and any information held by private bodies that is required for
the exercise and protection of any rights.
 Database Management System (DBMS)

 A database management system (DBMS) is an application software that interacts with user and other application
programs designed to define, capture, manipulate, retrieve and manage data in a database
 DBMS generally manipulates the data itself, the data format, field names, record structure and file structure.
 It also defines rules to validate and manipulate this data.
 E.g: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Libre office base, Microsoft Access
Database Management System (DBMS)
Why Do You Need a DBMS?

 The database management system has promising potential advantages:

 Controlling Redundancy - In file system, each application has its own private files
 Integrity can be enforced - Integrity of data means that data in database is always accurate, such that incorrect
information cannot be stored in database
 Inconsistency can be avoided - An inconsistent database is capable of supplying incorrect or conflicting
information
 Data can be shared - data is shared by multiple applications in centralized DBMS as compared to file system
 Standards can be enforced - Since DBMS is a central system, so standard can be enforced easily may be at
Company level, Department level, National level or International level
 Why Do You Need a Database Management
System?
 Promising potential advantages of DBMS
 Restricting unauthorized access - DBMS can be enforced to restrict unauthorized user access to all information when
multiple users share a database.
 Solving Enterprise Requirement than Individual Requirement - DBA can structure the database system to provide an
overall service that is “best for the enterprise”
 Providing Backup and Recovery - DBMS provides facilities for recovering from hardware or software failures
 Cost of developing and maintaining system is lower - Although the initial cost of setting up of a database can be large,
but the cost of developing and maintaining application programs to be far lower than for similar service using
conventional systems.
 Data Model can be developed - The centralized system is able to represent the complex data and interfile relationships,
which results better data modeling properties.
 Concurrency Control - DBMS systems provide mechanisms to provide concurrent access of data to multiple users
 Your assignment? Find out the setbacks of having a DBMS
 What can a DBMS handle?

 Data Entry And Update: – add data, change data and delete data
 Queries:– ask complex questions about the data in the database
 Forms: – produce attractive and useful forms for entering, viewing and updating data
 Reports:– create sophisticated reports for presenting data
 Database Model

 A database model shows the logical structure of a database, including the relationships and constraints that determine how data
can be stored and accessed
 Individual database models are designed based on the rules and concepts of whichever broader data model the designers adopt
 Some of the most common ones include
 Hierarchical database model
 Relational model – Relevant for this module
 Network model
 Object-oriented database model
 Entity-relationship model
 Document model
 Entity-attribute-value model
 Star schema
 The object-relational model, which combines the two that make up its name
 Relational Model

 Relational model sorts data into tables(relations), each of which consists of columns and rows
 A database table consists of rows and columns. Different tables contain information about different types of things.
 Each row in a database table represents one instance of the type of object described in that table. A row is also called
a record.
 The columns in a table are the set of facts that we keep track of about that type of object. A column is also called an
attribute.
 Each column lists an attribute (characteristic)of the entity in question which describes the instances(records) in the
column of a database., such student ID, Firstname lastname, etc
 Together, the attributes in a relation are called a domain
 An attribute or combination of attributes that uniquely identify each table record is a primary key
 If this unique attribute (key) is referenced in a another table it is called a foreign key
 Each row (tuple) includes data about a specific instance of the entity in question, e.g particular employee.
- An Example of a Relational Database

- Multiple tables are related to each other by

sharing data fields

- The GLUE in a relational database:

Foreign Keys (FK)
- To relate two tables, the ___PK__ of one
table is used as a connecting or _____FK___
in another table.
- The advantage of this is that, because they
are related, it is easy to find data in both
 What next?

 Once you have created a database and entered the relevant data, you can sort, retrieve and use/
manipulate the data
 retrieving data: Specific information can be obtained by retrieving (fetching) data that matches certain criteria.
 This can be done by using a filter or a query
Summary

 Background/History
 Define what a database is?
 Explain what a database management system is?
 Understand why RDBM is essential
 Know different types of model
 Understand the difference between a relational model and a relational database
 Essential features of a relational database :- primary, key, foreign key, attribute, instance
 Common database operations