1/18/2023

MAIN TOPIC: DATABASE AS INFORMATION SYSTEM  Objective: To describe manual data processing system
 To describe electronic data processing system
SUB TOPICS:
 Manual data processing system  To compare manual and electronic data processing system
 To explain the importance of data processing
 Electronic data processing system
 To explain database terminologies
 Database concepts and terminologies
 To explain importance of database system
 Types of database system  To list types of database system
 To plan for a database
 Creating database

INFORMATION SYSTEM
An information system is any combination of information technology and INFORMATION is a processed data
people's activities using that technology to support operations, management,
IN LOCAL ENGLISH
and decision-making.
System is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an
interconnecting network; a complex whole.

A computer system
is a set of integrated devices that input, output, process, and store data and
information.

1
 1/18/2023

Data Processing
Data is processed to get the required results. For that purpose, different
Database as operations may be performed on data.

Information Therefore, data processing is defined as: " A sequence of operations on

data to convert it into useful information".

System The important operations that can be performed on data are:

i. Arithmetic and logical operations.
ii. To send and receive data from one location to another.
Srss iii. Classification of data.
Mr. Yusuf D Msemo iv. Arranging data into a specific order etc.
[email protected]
+255 713 260 549
6

Stages of Data Processing 4. Processing of data – The data are manipulated by sorting, calculating,
i. Collection of data updating etc. Usually, a set of working procedure or instructions are
ii. Preparation of data followed.
iii. Input of data 5. Output of information – The end result is produced in a suitable
iv. Processing of data manner.
v. Output of information Data processing life cycle (IPO) diagram
INPUT

1. Collection of data – Data are obtained and gathered from their source Note:
2. Preparation of data – Data are made ready for further use.
OUTPUT PROCESSING
3. Input of data – Data are passed to the person or department
responsible for processing data.
IPO- Input, Processing, Output
If computer is used, data are typed into the computer.
7 8

2
 1/18/2023

The data processing can be accomplished through following methods:

i. Manual Data Processing. ii. Mechanical Data Processing
ii. Mechanical Data Processing. In mechanical data processing, data is processed by using different tools
iii. Electronic Data Processing. like typewriters, mechanical printers, calculator or other mechanical
devices.
i. Manual Data Processing

Manual data processing refers to data processing that requires humans iii. Electronic Data Processing
to manage and process the data throughout its existence. (Physical
entering of data done with pen and paper) It is the modern technique to process data. The data is processed through
computer.
It utilizes non-technological tools, which include paper, writing utensils and
physical filing cabinets. All the calculations and logical operations are Data and set of instructions are given to the computer as input and the
manually performed on data. computer automatically processes the data according to the given set of
9 instructions. 10

Advantages of Electronic data processing over the others:

a. Is more fast.
b. Is less time consuming.
c. It can process large amounts of data easily.
d. It can present information in more attractive way e.g. by using charts.
e. It will give 100 % error free results, if input and instructions are
accurate.
f. It has better security features e.g. the use of password, encryption.
g. Reduced repetition of data (redundancy) stored in the database.
h. Centralized records that can be accessed by remote terminals
simultaneously.
i. Records can be linked with other application to enhance sharing of
data.
j. It has decision making capabilities.
k. Easy update of data in the database.
11 12

3
 1/18/2023

Data hierarchy
● Bits – Is the smallest unit of data in a computer.
● Characters/byte – Is a combination of eight bits.
● Field – A collection of characters that represents a single type of data.
● Record – A collection of related fields, i.e. fields are related to the same
case (or respondent).
● File – A collection of related records, i.e. records related to the same
sample.
● Database – A collection of related files, i.e. Files of students in a school.

13 14

DATABASE
Database - is a collection of information that is organized so that it Types of Databases
a. Non-Relational databases (Flat File/database)
can easily be accessed, managed, and updated.
b. Relational database
Some examples of databases you may encounter in your daily life are:
c. Non-relational databases (Flat file/database)
● Airline reservation database.
● Motor vehicle registration database. This is the database which does not use table to store information. Non-
● Papers in your filing cabinet. relational databases place information in field and that information is
available for sorting and disseminating the way we need it.
● Files on your computer hard drive.
● Student records. The data in a non-relational database is limited to some program and
cannot be extracted and applied to a number of other software programs,
or other database files. The data can only be "copied and pasted. E.g. a
Spreadsheet.
15 16

4
 1/18/2023

Characteristics Flat files(Database):

b. Relational Database.
i. Data is stored as records in regular files.
ii. Records usually have a simple structure and fixed number of fields. This is a database which store information in a table.
iii. For fast access may support indexing of fields in the records.
iv. No mechanisms for relating data between files. In relational databases, fields can be used in a number of ways (and can be
of variable length), provided that they are linked in tables.
v. One needs special programs in order to access and manipulate the
data. It is developed based on a database model that provides for logical
connections among files (known as tables) by including identifying data
from one table in another table.

Relational database uses Database Management system (DBMS) to perform

its operations.
17 18

Database Management System (DBMS) Importance of Relational database (Database) over Flat Database:
Is a software package designed to create, store, manage, and facilitate
access to databases. i. Handle large amounts of data
The DBMS provides users and programmers with a systematic way to ii. Make information retrieval faster
create, retrieve, update and manage data on the database. iii. Make data input faster
Examples of DBMS iv. Provide greater accuracy
● MS Access, MS SQL Server, DB2, Oracle, Sybase, MySQL, PostgreSQL. v. Data can be easily accessed.
Functions of DBMS vi. Data can be shared.
i. Allow the user to add or delete records vii. Data storage and redundancy can be reduced.
ii. Update or modify existing records viii.Data inconsistency can be avoided.
iii. Organize data for easy access, retrieval and manipulation of data ix. Data Integrity can be maintained.
iv. Acts as an interface between database and other applications x. Security restrictions can be applied.
v. Keeps statistics of data items in the database
vi. Ensures security for the data in the database against unauthorized
access. 19 20

5
 1/18/2023

Selecting a database system: Need Analysis:

The needs analysis process will be specific to your organization but, at a Tables comprise the fundamental building blocks of any database. If you're
minimum, should answer the following questions: familiar with spreadsheets, you'll find database tables extremely similar.
i. How many records we will warehouse and for how long? Take a look at this example of a table sample database:
ii. Who will be using the database and what tasks will they perform?
iii. How often will the data be modified? Who will make these Employee ID Last First Name Title Title Birth Date
modifications? Name Of
iv. Who will be providing IT support for the database?
1 nyirenda Ally IT Expert Mr. 12/12/2000
v. What hardware is available? Is there a budget for purchasing
additional hardware? 2 Nyirenda Hannat Comp Eng Dr. 05/12/1980
vi. Who will be responsible for maintaining the data? 3 Ally Sophy Accountancy Mrs. 25/11/1988
vii. Will data access be offered over the Internet? If so, what level of access
should be supported? 4 Msiga Athuman Auditor Ms. 25/11/1990
5 Ally Rakeem Lecturer Ms. 22/6/1999

21 22

Database object in MS access:

i. Table – Contain rows called records and columns called fields. Table in
i. Report – Present requested information and allow to create hard copies.
a database is also known as File or Relation.
parts of the report
● report header: this contains unbound controls that display title of the report
i. Queries – Are requests for specific information from a database. ● page header: contains or labels data items to be displayed
● details:
Queries are virtual tables built on a given SQL statement. ● page footer: holds controls that is to be displayed on every page such as the
page number and date e.g. =now() displays the current date and time as set in the
system clock
i. Form/input screen – Are parts of user interface which are used to ● report footer: used to display summary from a report such as the grand total for
enter, edit or browse/view data entries from a database numerical data in a particular field column
control: is a visual object such as textbox, checkbox, command buttons ii. Modules - A module is a collection of user-defined functions, subroutines, and global
types of control variables written in VBA code. These objects can then be used/called from anywhere in
your Access database.
● bound control: is the one whose source of data is a field in the
iii. Macros - A macro is a tool that allows you to automate tasks and add functionality to
table or query your forms, reports, and controls. For example, if you add a command button to a form,
● unbound control: is a control that is not connected to any data. you associate the button's OnClick event to a macro, and the macro contains the
commands that you want the button to perform each time it is clicked
23 24

6
 1/18/2023

Component of a table in a database: Terminologies used in Database:

Entity: Is anything (real or abstract) which can be distinctly identified e.g. a physical thing
● Row/Record /Tuple – Are collection of related fields. like a person, a car. Or an abstract thing e.g. a university course, an event, a job.
A record: one piece of data, i.e. one student's information.
Primary key (PK): Is a unique key which uniquely identify each row/record in a table.
● Column/Field/Attribute – Are characteristics describe each Foreign key (FK): Is the primary key from another table, this is the only way join
object/entity. relationships can be established.
A field: one category of information, i.e., Name, Address, Semester Normalization: The process of structuring data to minimize duplication(repetition) and
Grade, Academic topic inconsistencies.

Integrity: Components that preserve the relationship among different related records in
the database.

Constraints: Is the state that restricts (domain) the possible values of an attribute
Domain: the set of possible values of a given attributes.

Index: is a way of providing quick access to data(used to speed up searching and sorting
25 of data in a table) 26
a data domain is the collection of values that a data element may contain. ... The data domain for the gender
column is: "M", "F"
Primary Key is a unique and non-null key which identify a record uniquely in table. A table can have only one

Data Type: A particular kind of data item, as defined by the values it can
Creating Database in MS Access
take, the programming language used, or the operations that can be
i. Create Database.
performed on it.
ii. Create Table. Data Type Description
iii. Specify Data Types of the field in a table. Text/Short Text Use for text or combinations of text and numbers. 255 characters maximum
iv. Specify Primary key and Foreign key. Memo/Long Text Memo is used for larger amounts of text. Stores up to 65,536 characters. Note: You
cannot sort a memo field. However, they are searchable
v. Create a Relationship if any.
Number Numeric values, such as distances. Note that there is a separate data type for currency.
vi. Create a query.
Yes/No Boolean values.
vii. Create a Form by selecting reference table or query.
Date/Time Dates and times.
viii.Create a Report by selecting reference table or query.
AutoNumber Numbers that are automatically generated for each record.
Currency Monetary values.
Hyperlink Hyperlinks, such as e-mail addresses.

27 28

7
 1/18/2023

● Hierarchical database: is the database that uses a tree like structure that
Database model is the logical structure, presentation or layout that describe
links a number of elements to one.
how data will be stored, managed and processed in the database.
Problems of Hierarchical database
Types of database models
1. Difficult or impossible to extend the data model (especially if you want items
● Relational database: is the database that uses table to store data, the table
to belong to multiple hierarchies for different applications).
is made up of rows and columns.
2. Cannot force consistency between all logical entities (also referred to as
In relational database primary key is the fundamental tool used to establish
update anomalies).
relationship among tables.
3. Leads to query bias. Certain types of queries are easier to write and
execute faster than others
Problems associated with relational database
1. They don’t scale well to very large sizes, large data solutions become very
● Flat File database: is a database in which each database is represented as
expensive
a single table.
2. They don’t do unstructured data search very well (i.e. google type searching)
3. Difficult to implement certain kinds of basic queries using SQL.
29 30

Problems of Flat file database 2. Operational Anomalies: Insertion, deletion and updating operations of
any record require large number of pointer adjustments, which makes its
1. Less security easy to extract information.
implementation very complex and complicated.
2. Data Inconsistency
3. Absence of structural independence: If changes are made to the
3. Redundancy
database structure then all the application programs need to be
4. Sharing of information is cumbersome task
modified before they can access data.
5. Slow for huge database
6. Searching process is time consuming
● Object-Oriented database: is a database in which information is
● Network database: is the database that is designed as a flexible approach represented in the form of objects.
to representing objects and their relationship
Problems of Object Oriented database model
Problems of network model 1. Schema Changes: Modifying the schema by creating, updating or
modifying a persistent class typically means that changes have to be
1. System complexity: All the records are maintained using pointers and hence made to the other classes in the application that interact with instances
the whole database structure becomes very complex. 31 of that class. 32

8
 1/18/2023

2. Language Dependence: This means that data in an OODBMS is typically

FIELD PROPERTY SETTING
only accessible from a specific language using a specific Application
Programming Interface (API).
3. Lack of Ad-Hoc Queries: The queries that can be performed on the data
in an OODBMS is highly dependent on the design of the system

33 These properties determine what can and can’t be entered in the different fields of a database table. 34

FIELD SIZES IN NUMERIC DATA TYPE

FIELD PROPERTY
The properties of a field describe
The characteristics and behavior of data added to that field.

A field's data type is the most important property because it determines

what kind of data the field can store
GIGO
Garbage In Garbage Out
● FIELD SIZE- (IN TEXT DATA TYPE)
In the Field Size box for Text fields, enter the maximum number of characters
that can be entered in the field

35 36

9
 1/18/2023

Integers in Access come in 1, 2 and 4 byte varieties.

The single byte number is named Byte (Range 0-255),

The two-byte number is named Integer (-32768 to 32767)

And then there is the Long Integer (-2 billion to 2 billion).

Decimal numbers are so called fixed point numbers.

37 38

• FORMAT

This property enables you to set the precise manner in which Access displays or prints the data that is
located in its Tables.

As with Field Size, the format available to select depends on the data type of that column.

For example, with a Currency field, you can display the data in a form that uses a dollar sign, a Euro sign,
or no sign at all.

The data itself will not be changed with these settings, just how the data is displayed.

Another very useful function of Format is with Date/Time data types. Whether you want to display data in
the long format or short format, this property enables you to set that option.

39 40

10
 1/18/2023

INPUT MASK
Is a string of characters that indicates the format of valid input values. You can use input masks in table
fields, query fields, and controls on forms and reports. ... For example, you might use an input mask
with a field that stores phone numbers so that Access requires ten digits of input

Creates a format or pattern in which data must be entered

000-000-000
000/000/000

41 42

CAPTION

The Caption property is a string expression that can contain up to 2,048 characters. If you don't specify a
caption for a table field, the field's FieldName property setting will be used as the caption of a label attached
to a control or as the column heading in Datasheet view

Caption is the name that displays in the title bar at the very top of the report.

a title or brief explanation

43 44

11
 1/18/2023

CAPTION
DEFAULT VALUE
The Default Value is the value that a new record starts out with. You can change it if you want, but Access will
create new records with this value.
You can set the Default Value to a static value
. For example, if most of your customers are
from New York, you could set the Default
Value for a State

If you change the caption also the field name will change

45 46

VALIDATION RULE
A validation rule is one way to restrict input in a table field or a control (such as a text box) on a form. ...
Access provides a number of ways to restrict input: Data types Every table field has a data type that restricts
what users can enter.

47 48

12
 1/18/2023

49 50

VALIDATION TEXT REQUIRED FIELDS

Validation text lets you provide a message to help users who input data that is not valid. When data is Also known as mandatory fields, are questions that must be answered by the form-filler. The opposite of a
entered, Access checks to see whether the input breaks a validation rule – if so, the input is not accepted, mandatory field is an optional field; with these questions, form-fillers have a choice.
and Access displays a message.

51 52

13
 1/18/2023

ALLOWZEROLENGTH

However, for Text, Memo, and Hyperlink fields, you must set the Allow Zero Length property to Yes to
allow users to enter zero-length strings.

Zero-length string means "I know there is no value." To allow Zero-length string in a field, make sure
"Allow Zero length" in field properties in design view is set Yes. To make a cell a Zero-length string, enter
"" in the field

NB: The AllowZeroLength property applies only to Text, Memo, and Hyperlink table fields.

53 54

THE INDEXED

Just like an index in a book, when you index a field, it helps Access find and sort information quickly
especially in large tables.

The Indexed list gives you three choices:

No: The field is not indexed. This is the default setting.

Yes (Duplicates OK): The field is indexed and Access will allow records in this field to have the same value.

Yes (No Duplicates): The field is indexed and Access won't allow records in this field to have the same value
(for example, if you don't want to allow two customers to have the same social security number).

You can index any field in a table to dramatically speed up queries and sorts. When you sort or query a
large table using an indexed field, Access finds or sorts the information by consulting the index instead of
55 sifting through the entire table. 56

14
 1/18/2023

UNICODE COMPRESSION
Microsoft Access uses the Unicode character-encoding scheme to represent the data in a Text, Memo, or
Hyperlink field. Unicode represents each character as two bytes, so the data in a Text, Memo, or Hyperlink
field requires more storage space than it did in Access 97 or earlier, where each character is represented as
one byte.

To offset this effect of Unicode character representation and to ensure optimal performance, the default value
of the Unicode Compression property for a Text, Memo, or Hyperlink field is Yes. When a field's Unicode
Compression property is set to Yes, any character whose first byte is 0 is compressed when it is stored and
uncompressed when it is retrieved. Because the first byte of a Latin character—a character of a Western
European language such as English, Spanish, or German—is 0, Unicode character representation does not
affect how much storage space is required for compressed data that consists entirely of Latin characters.

In a single field, you can store any combination of characters that Unicode supports. However, if the first byte
of a particular character is not 0, that character is not compressed.

Data in a Memo field is not compressed unless it requires 4,096 bytes or less of storage space after
compression. As a result, the contents of a Memo field might be compressed in one record, but might not be
57 compressed in another record. 58

IME MODE

What does IME mode mean? It is an option in creating text fields in tables

An Input Method Editor (IME) is a program that allows you to enter Asian text in programs by converting your
keystrokes into Asian characters. The IME interprets your keystrokes as characters, then gives you the
opportunity to insert the correct interpretation into the program you're working in.

59 60

15
 1/18/2023

About Input Method Editors (IMEs)

An Input Method Editor (IME) is a program that allows you to enter Asian text in programs by converting your
keystrokes into Asian characters. The IME interprets your keystrokes as characters, then gives you the
opportunity to insert the correct interpretation into the program you're working in.

The Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language versions of Microsoft Office
each come with the IMEs for that language. If you are using a different language version of Microsoft Office,
you can download the IME you want from the Microsoft Office Online Web site. IMEs are also available in
the Microsoft Office 2003 Proofing Tools.

Once you have installed the IME, you can access it from the Language bar that appears by default in the
upper-right corner of the screen in any Office program.

IMEMode/KanjiConversion Property

You can use the IMEMode property to set a control's Kanji Conversion Mode when the focus shifts to the
control.

61 62

KANJICONVERSION

What is Kanji called in English?

Kanji ideograms (or “characters”) were taken from Chinese characters, and many changed over time. The
word “kanji” means “Han characters” (i.e. “Chinese characters”).

63 64

16
 1/18/2023

TEXT ALIGNMENT

This setting determines how the text is displayed horizontally on the page.
The four primary types of text alignment include left aligned, right aligned, centered, and justified.

65

17