TYPES OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

There are four structural types of database management systems:

 Hierarchical databases.
 Network databases.
 Relational databases.
 Object-oriented databases
HIERARCHICAL DATABASES (DBMS).
 It is very fast and simple.
 In a hierarchical database, records contain information about their groups of parent/child
relationships, just like as a tree structure.
 The structure implies that a record can have also repeating information. In this structure
Data follows a series of records,
 It is a set of field values attached to it. It collects all records together as a record type.
These record types are the equivalent of tables in the relational model, and with the
individual records being the equivalent of rows.
 To create links between these record types, the hierarchical model uses these type
Relationships.
 It supports the one to many relationships.

Advantage 
 Hierarchical database can be accessed and updated rapidly because in this model
structure is like as a tree and the relationships between records are defined in advance.
 This feature is a two-edged.

Disadvantage 
 This type of database structure is that each child in the tree may have only one parent,
and relationships or linkages between children are not permitted, even if they make sense
from a logical standpoint.
 Hierarchical databases are so in their design. it can difficult for adding a new field or
record requires that the entire database be redefined. 
NETWORK DATABASE
 A network databases are mainly used on a large digital computers.
 It more connections can be made between different types of data, network databases are
considered more efficiency It contains limitations must be considered when we have to
use this kind of database.
 It is updated version of the hierarchical databases. Network databases are similar to
hierarchical databases by also having a hierarchical structure. A network database looks
more like a cobweb or interconnected network of records.
 In network databases, children are called members and parents are called occupier. The
difference between each child and member can have more than one parent.
  It supports many-to-many relationships.

ADVANTAGES OF NETWORK MODEL-

The major advantage of network model are-
1.) Conceptual simplicity-Just like the hierarchical model, the network model is also
conceptually simple and easy to design.
2.) Capability to handle more relationship types-The network model can handle the
one to many and many to many relationships which is real help in modeling the real life
situations.
3.) Ease of data access-The data access is easier and flexible than the hierarchical model.
4.) Data integrity- The network model does not allow a member to exist without an
owner.
5.) Data independence- The network model is better than the hierarchical model in
isolating the programs from the complex physical storage details.

DIS-ADVANTAGE OF NETWORK MODEL-

1.) System complexity- All the records are maintained using pointers and hence the whole
database structure becomes very complex.

2.) Operational Anomalies- The insertion, deletion and updating operations of any record
require large number of pointers adjustments.
3.) Absence of structural independence-structural changes to the database is very difficult.

RELATIONAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

RDBMS is a database management system based on relational model defined by E.F.Codd. Data
is stored in the form of rows and columns. The relations among tables are also stored in the form
of the table.
CONCEPT
 In relational databases, the relationship between data files is relational.
 Hierarchical and network databases require the user to pass a hierarchy in order to access
needed data.
 These databases connect to the data in different files by using common data numbers or a
key field.
 Data in relational databases is stored in different access control tables, each having a key
field that mainly identifies each row.
 In the relational databases are more reliable than either the hierarchical or network
database structures. In relational databases, tables or files filled up with data are called
relations (tuples) designates a row or record, and columns are referred to as attributes or
fields.
FEATURES:
- Provides data to be stored in tables
- Persists data in the form of rows and columns
- These tables are created using SQL.
- And data from these tables are also retrieved using SQL
- Provides facility primary key, to uniquely identify the rows
- Creates indexes for quicker data retrieval
- Provides a virtual table creation in which sensitive data can be stored and simplified query can
be applied. (Views)
- Sharing a common column in two or more tables (primary key and foreign key)
- Provides multi user accessibility that can be controlled by individual users.
ADVANTAGES OF RDBMS

1. Data is only stored once.

 No multiple record changes needed

 More efficient storage

 Simple to delete or modify details.

 All records in other tables having a link to that entry will show the change.

2. Complex queries can be carried out. A language called SQL has been developed to allow
programmers to 'Insert', 'Update', 'Delete', 'Create', 'Drop' table records.

3. Better security. By splitting data into tables, certain tables can be made confidential. When a
person logs on with their username and password, the system can then limit access only to those
tables whose records they are authorized to view.

4. Cater for future requirements. By having data held in separate tables, it is simple to add
records that are not yet needed but may be in the future.

5. Ease of use: The revision of any information as tables consisting of rows and columns is
much easier to understand.

6. Flexibility: Different tables from which information has to be linked and extracted can be
easily manipulated by operators such as project and join to give information in the form in which
it is desired.

7. Precision: The usage of relational algebra and relational calculus in the manipulation of the
relations between the tables ensures that there is no ambiguity, which may otherwise arise in
establishing the linkages in a complicated network type database.
Summary - advantages of a relational database over flat file
· Avoids data duplication
· Avoids inconsistent records
· Easier to change data
· Easier to change data format
· Data can be added and removed easily
· Easier to maintain security.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE RELATIONAL DATABASE

The main problem when using a relational database is the complexity that arises when it is first
created. It is absolutely vital that the defined relationships between the tables are correct and that
each set of information is linked to its pair. Although less information has to be entered in total
than with other databases, making sure every point is set up correctly is a slow process.
Furthermore, the relationships can become extremely intricate when a relational database
contains more than just two tables.

1. Performance: A major constraint and therefore disadvantage in the use of relational database
system is machine performance. If the number of tables between which relationships to be
established are large and the tables themselves effect the performance in responding to the SQL
queries.
2. Physical Storage Consumption: With an interactive system, for example an operation like
join would depend upon the physical storage also. It is, therefore common in relational databases
to tune the databases and in such a case the physical data layout would be chosen so as to give
good performance in the most frequently run operations. It therefore would naturally result in the
fact that the lays frequently run operations would tend to become even more shared.
3. Slow extraction of meaning from data: if the data is naturally organized in a hierarchical
manner and stored as such, the hierarchical approach may give quick meaning for that data.

4. Data Complexity: Data in an RDBMS resides in multiple tables, which are linked to each
other through shared key values. An RDBMS does not force database designers to impose a
coherent table structure; inexperienced programmers may design systems that create unnecessary
complexity or limit the future development of the database through poorly chosen data types.
The flexibility of an RDBMS presents a double-edged sword. Experienced designers work
magic, but inexperienced designers wreak havoc on a company's data.

5. Broken Keys and Records: Relational databases require shared keys to link information
spread across several tables. For example, a customer table may include client demographics,
with a unique index number identifying the record within the table. A sales table may identify
the customer only by that index number. If the data types linking the keys are different, the
database cannot link the records without additional rework by the report developer. Likewise, if a
table lacks a unique key, the database may return inaccurate results. If the application accessing a
database isn't coded to lock records during an edit, users could inadvertently corrupt data, leading
to broken records.

6. Developer Expertise: As the complexity of a relational database increases, the skill set
required by the RDBMS administrator, various users and report developers also increases. A
mission-critical database may require expertise that exceeds the budget of a small business;
furthermore, if the developers did not uniformly engage in best practice design, a subsequent
developer may not understand hidden intricacies that could lead to broken queries or inaccurate
reports. This risk increases if database and application development is performed by different
people.

7. Hardware Performance: Complex queries require sophisticated processing power. Although

most desktop computers can manage the databases of the size and complexity often encountered
in a small business setting, a database with external data sources or very complex data structures
may require more powerful servers to return results within an acceptable response time.
Object Oriented Database (OODB)
 Provides all the facilities associated with object oriented paradigm.
 It enables us to create classes, organize objects, structure an inheritance hierarchy and
call methods of other classes.
 Besides these, it also provides the facilities associated with standard database systems.
 However, object oriented database systems have not yet replaced the RDBMS in
commercial business applications.

Following are the two different approaches for designing an object-oriented database: 

 Designed to store, retrieve and manage objects created by programs written in some
object oriented languages (OOL) such as C++ or java.

Although a relational database can be used to store and manage objects, it does not understand
objects as such. Therefore, a middle layer called object manager or object-oriented layer
software is required to translate objects into tuples of a relation. 

 Designed to provide object-oriented facilities to users of non-object-oriented

programming languages (OOPLs) such as C or Pascal.

The user will create classes, objects, inheritance and so on and the database system will store and
manage these objects and classes. This second approach, thus, turns non-OOPLs into OOPLs. A
translation layer is required to map the objects created by user into objects of the database
system.

FEATURES OF OODBMS:

Feature of Persistence: This feature of OODBMS includes the survival of data as well as

persistence should be orthogonal and implicit. 1ne orthogonal implies each object should be
persistent as such and the user should not have to explicitly move or copy data to make it
persistent. In particular, a database can store, individual objects and the volatile main memory of
an application can contain collections of objects.

Able to handle large databases: This feature· includes the optimal "management of very large
databases using techniques like Data clustering, Data buffering, Query optimization, Access path
selection and Index management.  
Controlled Concurrency: This feature guarantees harmonious coexistence among users.
Working simultaneously on the database and enjoying controlled sharing. By allowing multiple
transactions to run concurrently will improve the performance of the system in terms of
increased throughout or improved response time. Ensuring consistency in spite of concurrent
execution of transaction require additional effort which is performed by the concurrency
controller system of DBMS.

Restoring or Data Recovery: This feature indicates the restoration of the system to a state that
existed before the software or hardware based crash such as processor or disk failure. The
recovery refers to the various strategies and procedures involved in protecting your database
against data loss and reconstructing the data such that no data- is lost after failure.

Query facility on basis: This feature includes the facility of applying query that should be
efficient using query optimization and application independent that can work on any database.

Construction of Complex Objects: This feature enables the OODBMS to construct complex

objects like tuples sets, lists and arrays from the simple objects like integers, characters, byte
strings Boolean and float using the constructors and appropriate operators.

Identity of an object: This feature ensures that each object is assigned an Object Identifier
(OID) when it is created. Object identity assists OODBMS to uniquely identify an object,
thereby automatically providing entity integrity. In fact, as object identity ensures system-wide
uniqueness, it provides a stronger constraint than the relational data model's entity integrity,
which requires any uniqueness within a relation.

Feature of Classes and types: This feature supports the notion of classes and types for defining
a set of similar objects. Objects that have the safe attributes and respond to the same messages
can be grouped together to form a class. The attributes and associated methods are defined once
for the' class rather than separately for each object. The type of variables and expressions help to
do the type checking at compile time, to check the correctness of the programs.

Property of encapsulation: This property of OODBMS implies that an object contains both the
data structure and the set of operations that can be used to manipulate it. An object is said to
encapsulate (hide) data and program. This means that the user cannot see the inside of the object
but can use the object by calling the program part of the object.
Property of Inheritance: This property of OODBMS implies that feature of objects by which
instances of a class can have access to data and programs contained in a previously defined class,
without those definitions being restarted. The different types of inheritance used for refusing the
code are substitution inheritance, inclusion inheritance, constraint inheritance and specialization.

Property of overriding combined with late binding: This property of OODBMS implies the
ability to use the same message to objects different classes and have them behave differently.
Thus we can define the message "+" for both the addition of numbers and the concatenation
-joining) of characters, even though both these operations are completely different. This feature
provides the' ability to use the same word to invoke different methods, according to similarity of
meaning. Here the late binding is being done as the- system cannot bind operation names to
programs at compile time and thus, operation names are resolved at run-time.

Property of Extensibility: This property of OODBMS implies that new data types to be built

from existing types. The ability to factor out common properties of several classes and form
them into a super class that can be shared with subclasses can greatly reduce redundancy within
system. The usage of both system defined types and user-defined types is same.

Property of Computational Completeness: This feature of OODBMS implies that does can

employ any computable function using the reasonable connectivity to any existing programming
language. This feature makes OODBMS more powerful than a database system which only
stores and retrieves data and performs simple computations on· atomic values.

ADVANTAGES OF OODBMSS 

OODBMSs can provide appropriate solutions for many types of advanced database applications.
However, there are also disadvantages.
Enriched modeling capabilities
The object-oriented data model allows the 'real world' to be modeled more closely. The object,
which encapsulates both state and behavior, is a more natural and realistic representation of real-
world objects. An object can store all the relationships it has with other objects, including many-
to-many relationships, and objects can be formed into complex objects that the traditional data
models cannot cope with easily.
Extensibility
OODBMSs allow new data types to be built from existing types. The ability to factor out
common properties of several classes and form them into a superclass that can be shared with
subclasses can greatly reduce redundancy within system is regarded as one of the main
advantages of object orientation. Further, the reusability of classes promotes faster development
and easier maintenance of the database and its applications.

Capable of handling a large variety of data types

Unlike traditional databases (such as hierarchical, network or relational), the object oriented
database are capable of storing different types of data, for example, pictures, voice video,
including text, numbers and so on.

Removal of impedance mismatch

A single language interface between the Data Manipulation Language (DML) and the
programming language overcomes the impedance mismatch. This eliminates many of the
efficiencies that occur in mapping a declarative language such as SQL to an imperative 'language
such as 'C'. Most OODBMSs provide a DML that is computationally complete compared with
SQL, the 'standard language of RDBMSs.
More expressive query language
Navigational access from the object is the most common form of data access in an OODBMS.
This is in contrast to the associative access of SQL (that is, declarative statements with selection
based on one or more predicates). Navigational access is more suitable for handling parts
explosion, recursive queries, and so on.
Support for schema evolution
The tight coupling between data and applications in an OODBMS makes schema evolution more
feasible.

Support for long-duration, transactions

Current relational DBMSs enforce serializability on concurrent transactions to maintain database
consistency. OODBMSs use a different protocol to handle the types of long-duration transaction
that are common in many advanced database application.
Applicability to advanced database applications
There are many areas where traditional DBMSs have not been particularly successful, such as,
Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE), Office
Information System (OIS), and Multimedia Systems. The enriched modeling capabilities of
OODBMSs have made them suitable for these applications.

Improved performance
There have been a number of benchmarks that have suggested OODBMSs provide significant
performance improvements over relational DBMSs. The results showed an average 30-fold
performance improvement for the OODBMS over the RDBMS.

DISADVANTAGES OF OODBMSS: 
There are following disadvantages of OODBMS:
Lack of universal data model: There is no universally agreed data model for an OODBMS, and
most models lack a theoretical foundation. This .disadvantage is seen as a significant drawback,
and is comparable to pre-relational systems.
Lack of experience: In comparison to RDBMSs the use of OODBMS is still relatively limited.
This means that we do not yet have the level of experience that we have with traditional systems.
OODBMSs are still very much geared towards the programmer, rather than the naïve end-user.
Also there is a resistance to the acceptance of the technology. While the OODBMS is limited to a
small niche market, this problem will continue to exist
Lack of standards: There is a general lack of standards of OODBMSs. We have already
mentioned that there is not universally agreed data model. Similarly, there is no standard object-
oriented query language.
Complexity: The increased functionality provided by the OODBMS (such as the illusion of a
single-level storage model, pointer sizzling, long-duration transactions, version management, and
schema evolution--makes the system more complex than that of traditional DBMSs. In
complexity leads to products that are more expensive and more difficult to use.
Lack of support for views: Currently, most OODBMSs do not provide a view mechanism,
which, as we have seen previously, provides many advantages such as data independence,
security, reduced complexity, and customization.
Lack of support for security: Currently, OODBMSs do not provide adequate security
mechanisms. The user cannot grant access rights on individual objects or classes.
If OODBMSs are to expand fully into the business field, these deficiencies must be rectified.