Cartago, Erika Mariz V.

It Application Tools For Business

BSA

1. WHAT IS DATA TYPES?

- The data type of a value (or variable in some contexts) is an attribute that tells what
kind of data that value can have. Most often the term is used in connection with static
typing of variables in programming languages like C/C++, Java and C# etc, where the
type of a variable is known at compile time. Data types include the storage
classifications like integers, floating point values, strings, characters etc. Data types
define particular characteristics of data used in software programs and inform the
compilers about predefined attributes required by specific variables or associated data
objects.

2. WHAT ARE THE DATA TYPES IN MICROSOFT ACCESS?

- Every field in a table has properties and these properties define the field's
characteristics and behavior. The most important property for a field is its data type.
A field's data type determines what kind of data it can store. MS Access supports
different types of data, each with a specific purpose.
 The data type determines the kind of the values that users can store in any given
field.
 Each field can store data consisting of only a single data type.
- Here are some of the most common data types you will find used in a typical
Microsoft Access database.

Type of Data Description Size

Text or combinations of text and numbers, including Up to 255 characters.

Short Text numbers that do not require calculating (e.g. phone
numbers).

Long Text Lengthy text or combinations of text and numbers. Up to 63, 999 characters.

Numeric data used in mathematical calculations. 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes (16

Number bytes if set to Replication
ID).

Date/Time Date and time values for the years 100 through 9999. 8 bytes

Currency values and numeric data used in 8 bytes

Currency mathematical calculations involving data with one to
four decimal places.
 A unique sequential (incremented by 1) number or 4 bytes (16 bytes if set to
AutoNumber random number assigned by Microsoft Access Replication ID).
whenever a new record is added to a table.

Yes and No values and fields that contain only one of 1 bit.
Yes/No
two values (Yes/No, True/False, or On/Off).

 If you use previous versions of Access, you will notice a difference for two of those data types.
 In Access 2013, we now have two data types — short text and long text. In previous versions of
Access these data types were called text and memo.
 The text field is referred to as short text and your memo field is now called long text.
Here are some of the other more specialized data types, you can choose from in Access.

Data Types Description Size

Files, such as digital photos. Multiple files can be attached per Up to about 2 GB.
Attachment record. This data type is not available in earlier versions of
Access.

OLE objects can store pictures, audio, video, or other BLOBs Up to about 2 GB.
OLE objects
(Binary Large Objects)

Text or combinations of text and numbers stored as text and Up to 8,192 (each part of a
used as a hyperlink address. Hyperlink data type can
Hyperlink
contain up to 2048
characters).

The Lookup Wizard entry in the Data Type column in the Dependent on the data
Design view is not actually a data type. When you choose this type of the lookup field.
entry, a wizard starts to help you define either a simple or
Lookup complex lookup field.
Wizard A simple lookup field uses the contents of another table or a
value list to validate the contents of a single value per row. A
complex lookup field allows you to store multiple values of the
same data type in each row.

You can create an

expression that uses data
You can create an expression that uses data from one or more
from one or more fields.
Calculated fields. You can designate different result data types from the
You can designate
expression.
different result data types
from the expression.

- These are all the different data types that you can choose from when creating fields in
a Microsoft Access table.
3. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIELDS AND RECORDS IN MS
ACCESS?

 Records
- Data is stored in records. A record is composed of fields and contains all the data
about one particular person, company, or item in a database. In this database, a
record contains the data for one customer support incident report. Records appear
as rows in the database table. A record for Log ID 1201242 is highlighted in
Figure 3.

Figure 3: Records appear as rows in a database table.

 Fields
- A field is part of a record and contains a single piece of data for the subject of the
record. In the database table illustrated in Figure 4, each record contains four
fields:

Log ID

A number assigned to this customer support incident for identification purposes

Operator

The code for the customer support operator who handled this incident

Resolved

A check box to indicate whether the incident was resolved

Duration

The time in seconds the operator spent on this incident

- Fields appear as columns in a database table. Data from the Log ID field for five
records is highlighted in the Figure 4.

Figure 4: Fields appear as columns in a database table.

 4. WHAT IS A PRIMARY KEY?
- A primary key, also called a primary keyword, is a key in a relational database that is
unique for each record. It is a unique identifier, such as a driver license number,
telephone number (including area code), or vehicle identification number (VIN). A
relational database must always have one and only one primary key. Primary keys
typically appear as columns in relational database tables. The choice of a primary key
in a relational database often depends on the preference of the administrator. It is
possible to change the primary key for a given database when the specific needs of
the users changes. For example, the people in a town might be uniquely identified
according to their driver license numbers in one application, but in another situation it
might be more convenient to identify them according to their telephone numbers.

5. WHAT IS A FOREIGN KEY?

- A foreign key is a column or group of columns in a relational database table that
provides a link between data in two tables. It acts as a cross-reference between tables
because it references the primary key of another table, thereby establishing a link
between them. The majority of tables in a relational database system adhere to the
foreign key concept. In complex databases and data warehouses, data in a domain
must be added across multiple tables, thus maintaining a relationship between them.
The concept of referential integrity is derived from foreign key theory. Foreign keys
and their implementation are more complex than primary keys.

6. WHAT IS A RELATIONSHIP IN DATA TYPES?

- A relationship, in the context of databases, is a situation that exists between two
relational database tables when one table has a foreign key that references the primary
key of the other table. Relationships allow relational databases to split and store data
in different tables, while linking disparate data items.

REFERENCES:
What Is Data Type? - Definition from Techopedia

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3349/t-type

Ms Access Data Types Tutorialspoint.com

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_access/ms_access_data_types

What Is The Difference Between Field and Record

https://www.quora.com/ What-is-the-difference-between-field-and-record

What Is Primary Key (primary Keyword)? - Definition from Whatis.com

https://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/definition/primary-key

What Is a Foreign Key? - Definition from Techopedia

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/7272/foreign-key

What Is a Relationship? - Definition from Techopedia

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24438/relationship-database