Unit 1 : Fundamentals of Database system

1.1 Introduction:

Database is a collection of related data and data is a collection of facts and figures that
can be processed to produce information.

A database management system stores data in such a way that it becomes easier to
retrieve, manipulate, and produce information.

1.2 Characteristics of DBMS :

Traditionally, data was organized in file formats. DBMS was a new concept. A modern
DBMS has the following characteristics −

 Real-world entity − A modern DBMS is more realistic and uses real-world

entities to design its architecture.
 Relation-based tables − DBMS allows to store data in table format with relations
among tables.
 Less redundancy − DBMS reduces the replication of data.
 Multiple views − DBMS offers multiple views for different users.
 Security − DBMS provides security to the data.
 Multiuser and Concurrent Access − DBMS supports multi-user to access and
manipulate data at the same time.
 ACID Properties − DBMS follows the concepts of Atomicity,
Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. ACID properties help the database stay
healthy incase of failure.

1.3 Users and Actors of database system :

They are the people who interact with a database system in different ways.
They are as follow

1- end users

2- database designers
3- database administrators
4- application programmers

1
Users
A typical DBMS has users with different rights and permissions who use it for different
purposes.

The users of a DBMS can be broadly categorized as follows −

Administrators − Administrators maintain the DBMS and are responsible for

administrating the database.
Designers − Designers are the group of people who actually work on the designing part
of the database.

End Users − End users are those who actually benefits from the DBMS.

1.4 DBMS vs. File System Approach

S.No DBMS File System

1 DBMS protects the user from the In case of system failure the content of the
system failure. file will lost.
2 DBMS provides a good protection It is very difficult to protect a file under the
mechanism. file system.
3 DBMS efficiently store and retrieve File system can't efficiently store and
the data. retrieve the data.
4 DBMS takes care of Concurrent Concurrent access of data has more
access of data problems in File System
5 DBMS is a collection of data. In File system is a collection of data. In this
DBMS, the user is not required to system, the user has to write the procedures
write the procedures.

Advantages of DBMS
2
 o Controls database redundancy: DBMS can control data duplication.
o Data sharing: In DBMS, multiple users can share the data.
o Easily Maintenance: It can be easily maintainable.
o Reduce time: It reduces development time and maintenance need.
o Backup: DBMS creates automatic backup of data and restores the data if required.
o multiple user interface: It provides different types of user interfaces like
graphical user interfaces, application program interfaces

1.5 Database Architecture

DBMS architecture can be seen as either a single tier or multi-tier.

Types of DBMS Architecture

1-Tier Architecture

3
  In this architecture, the database is directly available to the user.
 Any changes done here will directly be done on the database

2-Tier Architecture

 In the two-tier architecture, applications on the client end can directly

communicate with the database at the server side.
 To communicate with the DBMS, client-side application establishes a connection
with the server side.

3-Tier Architecture

4
  In this architecture, client can't directly communicate with the server.
 The application on the client-end interacts with an application server which further
communicates with the database system.

Database (Data) Tier − At this tier, the database resides in here.

Application (Middle) Tier − At this tier reside the application server and the programs
that access the database.

User (Presentation) Tier − End-users operate on this tier and they know nothing about
any existence of the database beyond this layer.

1.6 Data Models

5
Data models define how the logical structure of a database is modeled.

Data models define how data is connected to each other and how they are processed and
stored inside the system.

1. flat data-models

flat data-models, where all the data used are to be kept in the same plane.

2. Entity-Relationship Model

Entity-Relationship (ER) Model is based on the notion of real-world entities and

relationships among them.

ER Model is best used for the conceptual design of a database.

ER Model is based on −

 Entities and their attributes.

 Relationships among entities.

These concepts are explained below.

Example :

6
Entity − An entity in an ER Model is a real-world entity having properties
called attributes.

Relationship − The logical association among entities is called relationship.

Relationships are mapped with entities in various ways.

Mapping cardinalities −

 one to one
 one to many
 many to one
 many to many

3. Relational Model
The most popular data model in DBMS is the Relational Model. It is more scientific
a model than others.

7
 Relation: A relation is a table with columns and rows.
 Attribute: An attribute is a named column of a relation.
 Domain: A domain is the set of allowable values for one or more attributes.
 Tuple: A tuple is a row of a relation.

1.7 Data model Schema and Instance

o The data which is stored in the database at a particular moment of time is called an
instance of the database.
o The overall design of a database is called schema.
o A database schema is the skeleton structure of the database. It represents the
logical view of the entire database.

8
Database Schema

9
A physical schema can be defined as the design of a database at its physical level. In this
level, it is expressed how data is stored in blocks of storage.

A logical schema can be defined as the design of the database at its logical level. It
defines tables, etc.

A View schema can be defined as the design of the database at view level which
generally describes end-user interaction with database systems.

Data Independence

Logical data independence can be defined as the immunity of the external schemas to
changes in the conceptual schema

If we do some changes on table format, it should not change the data residing on the disk.

Physical data independence can be defined as the immunity of the conceptual schema to
changes in the internal schema..

For example, in case we want to change or upgrade the storage system itself − suppose
we want to replace hard-disks with SSD − it should not have any impact on the logical
data or schemas.

10