Ch(1): introduction

1.1 : Database Management Systems

The first database systems were based on the use of
separate files.ISAM and VSAM are examples of file
management systems.
DBMS are centralized or distributed software systems
which provide facilities for defining databases, for selecting
data structures necessary for storing and searching for
data.
The first DBMS - characterized by a hierarchical model such as the IMS system and the System 2000.
The following generation of DBMS were based on relational
database technology such as CODASYL database systems.
relational database are installed increasingly in all sizes
of systems, from large processors to personal computers
because they are simple and easy to use & The simple
design of the abstraction mechanisms of the relational
data model has enabled simple query languages to be
developed Thus these systems have also been made
accessible to non-expert users. such as SQL, QUEL, QBE.
Relational DBMS have proved to be an effective tool
enabling data to be used. make computer languages easy
to use .these systems give efficient facilities and a set of
functions which ensure confidentiality(), security and
the integrity of the data they contain. relational DBMS are
one of the basic elements of technology in the
development of advanced data systems.
data model is a set of logical structures which allows the
user to describe the data which are to be stored on the
database together with a set of operations for handling
the data.
A relation can be seen as a table with rows (tuples) and
columns (attributes) which contain a specified type of data.

 The operations associated with a data model define the

data structures which represent the entities of the
application.
Update operations are for inserting and deleting tuples
and for changing the values of the attributes of the tuples.
The various operations provided by a DBMS are expressed
by means of one or several languages. such as:
1. DBMS provides a DDL ( Data Definition Language )
which defines the database schema.
2. DBMS provides a DML ( Data Management Language )
which allows access operations is known as a 'query
language'.
3. DBMS provides a DCL ( Data Control Language ), for
controlling and administering the database.
DBMS is equipped with( ) mechanisms for
1- Concurrency control (to enable several users to
gain access to
data at the same time).
2- Recovery mechanisms which ensure the consistency(
)of the
database if the system crashes or in the case of
user errors.
3- auxiliary( )access structures to ensure efficient
access to data.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.2 : Advanced Applications

as a result of hardware innovations, new data intensive
applications have emerged(appeared), For these a number
of functions is required on DBMS, only some of which are
available on the relational DBMS. such as Engineering
applications, such as CAD/CAM, CASE (Computer Aided
Software Engineering), CIM (Computer Integrated
Manufacturing), or multimedia systems....etc

conventional DBMS
, CAD/CAM

 modelling and management

.
modelling and management for Advanced Applications
1. modelling: a data model is a set of logical structures
which allows the user to describe the data which are
to be stored on the database together with a set
of operations for handling the data. the model must
be extensible.
2. management: the nature of the applications, the size
of the objects and the duration of the operations on
these, the way in which a number of problems is
tackled has to be thought out again, if not
broadened or changed completely:
Versions of objects have to be managed.
The transactions can be of long duration
and the size of data involved can be very
large.
To retrieve(return) complex objects quickly,
appropriate storage techniques have to be
developed.
Protocols which efficiently support
communications between the system's
clients have to be provided. This
requirement is very important in planning
applications which involve groups of users
whose cooperation must be made easier by
the system.
The 'evolutionary' nature of applications
makes changes to the database schema a
rule rather than an exception. It must
therefore be ensured that the arrangement
can be changed dynamically without having
to shut the system down.
Applications must be provided with both
primitives which manipulate the object as a
whole, and primitives which manipulate
their various components. It is also
necessary to provide capabilities for
accessing and manipulating sets of objects
through declarative query languages.

 Protection mechanisms must be based on

the notion of the object.
Functions for defining deductive rules and
integrity constraints. The system must have
efficient mechanisms for evaluating rules
and constraints.

another important requirement concerns new application for

interacting
with existing applications and the ability to access the
data managed by
these applications.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.3 : Current Trends in Database Technology

The principal trends can be characterized as follows:
Extended relational systems: This trend is closest to
the relational DBMS. In general, there is a tendency to
extend the relational DBMS with various functions, Almost
all relational DBMS producers have extended, or are
planning to extend, their products to include these
functions.
Object-oriented database management systems: These
systems integrate(merge) database technology with the
object-oriented paradigm which was developed in the area of
programming languages and software engineering systems.
Deductive( )database management systems:
These systems integrate database technology with logic
programming. The principal characteristic of these
systems is that they provide inference mechanisms, based
upon rules, which generate additional information from
the data stored in the database.
'Intelligent' database management systems: These
systems extend database technology
incorporating(merging) paradigms and techniques
developed in the field of artificial intelligence. Typical
examples are represented by natural language interfaces
or systems based on knowledge representation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.4 : Object-Oriented Database Management

Systems
OODBMS are the most promising technology for the next
generation of DBMS and for the development of integrated
development environments.
OODBMS are a database management systems in which
information is represented in the form of objects as used in
object-oriented programming.



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With My Best Wishes

" Mahmmoud Zayed "