Unit: 01 Introduction Structure

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Unit Objectives
1.2 Significance of Database
1.2.1 Purpose of Database Systems
1.2.2 Components of DBMS Environment
1.3 Database System Applications
1.4 Advantages of different Database Management systems
1.5 Disadvantages of different Database Management systems
1.6 Summary
1.7 Key Terms
1.8 Check Your Progress

1.0 Introduction:-
A database management system (DBMS) is referred to as a collection of related data. It usually also includes a
set of programs to access the relevant data. The primary aim of DBMS is to store and retrieve the relevant
information in an efficient and convenient manner. The database systems are designed to manage a large amount of
information. Defining structures for data storage and mechanisms for data retrieval, both are included in database
management. Additionally, DBMS also ensures the security of information stored. For example, a telephone
directory is the simplest example of a database. The DBMS is a general-purpose software system that facilitates the
processes of defining, constructing, and manipulating databases for various applications. Defining a database
involves specifying the data types, structures, and constraints for the data to be stored in the database. Constructing
the database is the process of storing the data itself on some storage medium that is controlled by the DBMS.
Manipulating a database includes such functions as querying the database to retrieve specific data, updating the
database to reflect changes in the real world, and generating reports from the data. This unit focuses on the
significance of databases, various merits and demerits of DBMS, and basic database system applications.

1.1 Unit Objectives:-

After completing this unit, the reader will be able to:
 Discuss the significance of the database.
 Understand the fundamentals of database system applications.
 Illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of DBMS.

1.2 Significance of Database:-

Indeed the importance of the database system has increased in recent years with significant developments in
hardware capability, hardware capacity, and communications, including the emergence of the Internet, electronic
commerce, business intelligence, mobile communications, and grid computing. We are already aware that a
database is a collection of relevant data. Database management system (DBMS) is the software that manages and
controls access to the database. A database application is a program that interacts with the database during its
execution. The database system is a collection of application Programs that interact with the database along with the
DBMS and the database itself. DBMS provides the following facilities:
 DBMS allows users to define the database, usually through a Data Definition Language (DDL) by specifying the data
types, structures, and constraints on the data to be stored in the database.
 DBMS allows users to insert, update, delete, and retrieve data from the database, usually through Data Manipulation
Language (DML). All the data and data descriptions have a central repository that allows the DML to provide a
general inquiry facility to this data, called a query language. In a query language, the user has to work with a fixed
set of queries, causing major software management problems. The most common query language is the Structured
Query Language (SQL)
 DBMS provides controlled access to the database.
 When we analyse the information needs of an organization, we attempt to identify entities, attributes, and
relationships. An entities a distinct object (a person, place, thing, concept, or event) in the organization that is to be
represented in the database. An attribute is a property that describes some aspect of the object that we wish to
record, and a relationship is an association between entities.

1.2.1 Purpose of Database Systems:-

Database systems arose in response to early methods of computerized management of commercial data. As an
example of such methods, typical of the 1960s, consider part of a university organization that, among other data,
keeps the information about all instructors, students, departments, and course offerings. One way to keep the
information on a computer is to store it in operating system files. To allow users to manipulate the information, the
system has a number of application programs that manipulate the files, including programs to:
 Add new students, instructors, and courses.
 Register students for courses and generate class rosters.
 Assign grades to students, compute grade point averages (GPA), and generate transcripts.

New application programs are added to the system as the need arises. For example, suppose that a university
decides to create a new major (say, computer science). As a result, the university creates a new department and
creates new permanent files (or adds information to existing files) to record information about all the instructors in
the department, students in that major, course offerings, degree requirements, etc. The university may have to write
 new application programs to deal with rules specific to the new major. New application programs may also have to
be written to handle new rules in the university. Thus, as time goes by, the system acquires more files and more
application programs.

This typical file-processing system is supported by a conventional operating system. The system stores
permanent records in various files, and it needs different application programs to extract records from, and add
records to, the appropriate files. Before database management systems (DBMSs) were introduced, organizations
usually stored information in such systems. Keeping organizational information in a file-processing system has a
number of major disadvantages:

 Data redundancy and inconsistency:-

Since different programmers create the files and application programs over a long period, the various files are
likely to have different formats and the programs may be written in several programming languages. Moreover, the
same information may be duplicated in several places (files). For example, the address and telephone number of a
particular customer may appear in a file that consists of savings-account records and in a file that consists of
checking-account records. This redundancy leads to higher storage and access cost. In addition, it may lead to data
inconsistency; that is, the various copies of the same data may no longer agree. For example, a changed customer
address may be reflected in savings-account records but not elsewhere in the system. Difficulty in accessing data.

 Difficulty in accessing data:-

Suppose that one of the bank officers needs to find out the names of all customers who live within a
particular postal-code area. The officer asks the data-processing department to generate such a list. Because the
designers of the original system did not anticipate this request, there is no application program on hand to meet it.
There is, however, an application program to generate the list of all customers. The bank officer has now two
choices: either obtain the list of all customers and extract the needed information manually or ask a system
programmer to write the necessary application program. Both alternatives are obviously unsatisfactory. Suppose that
such a program is written, and that, several days later, the same officer needs to trim that list to include only those
customers who have an account balance of $10,000 or more. As expected, a program to generate such a list does
not exist. Again, the officer has the preceding two options, neither of which is satisfactory. The point here is that
conventional file-processing environments do not allow needed data to be retrieved in a convenient and efficient
manner. More responsive data-retrieval systems are required for general use.

 Data isolation:-
Because data is scattered in various files, and files may be in different formats, writing new application programs
to retrieve the appropriate data is difficult.

 Integrity problems:-
The data values stored in the database must satisfy certain types of consistency constraints. For example, the
balance of a bank account may never fall below a prescribed amount (say, $25). Developers enforce these
constraints in the system by adding appropriate code in the various application programs. However, when new
constraints are added, it is difficult to change the programs to enforce them. The problem is compounded when
constraints involve several data items from different files.

 Atomicity problems:-
A computer system, like any other mechanical or electrical device, is subject to failure. In many applications, it is
crucial that, if a failure occurs, the data be restored to the consistent state that existed prior to the failure. Consider a
program to transfer $50 from account A to account B. If a system failure occurs during the execution of the program,
it is possible that the $50 was removed from account a, but was not credited to account B, resulting in an
inconsistent database state. Clearly, it is essential to database consistency that either both the credit and debit
occur, or that neither occur. That is, the funds transfer must be atomic—it must happen in its entirety or not at all. It
is difficult to ensure atomicity in a conventional file-processing system.

 Concurrent-access anomalies:-
For the sake of the overall performance of the system and faster response, many systems allow multiple users
to update the data simultaneously. In such an environment, the interaction of concurrent updates may result in
inconsistent data. Consider bank account a, containing $500. If two customers withdraw funds (say $50 and $100
respectively) from account A at about the same time, the result of the concurrent executions may leave the account
in an incorrect (or inconsistent) state. Suppose that the programs executing on behalf of each withdrawal read the
old balance, reduce that value by the amount being withdrawn, and write the result back. If the two programs run
concurrently, they may both read the value $500, and write back $450 and $400, respectively. Depending on which
one writes the value last, the account may contain either $450 or $400, rather than the correct value of $350. To
guard against this possibility, the system must maintain some form of supervision. But supervision is difficult to
provide because data may be accessed by many different application programs that have not been coordinated
previously.

 Security problems:-
Not every user of the database system should be able to access all the data. For example, in a banking system,
payroll personnel need to see only that part of the database that has information about the various bank employees.
 They do not need access to information about customer accounts. But, since application programs are added to the
system in an adhoc manner, enforcing such security constraints is difficult. These difficulties, among others,
prompted the development of database systems. In what follows, we shall see the concepts and algorithms that
enable database systems to solve the problems with file-processing systems. In most of this book, we use a bank
enterprise as a running example of a typical data-processing application found in a corporation.

1.2.2 Components of DBMS Environment:-

Five major components in the DBMS environment can be identified: hardware, software, data, procedures, and
people, as illustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Components of DBMS

Hardware:- The DBMS and the applications require hardware to run. The hardware can range from a single
personal computer to a single mainframe or a network of computers. The particular hardware depends on the
organization’s requirement and the DBMS used. Some DBMSs run only on particular hardware or operating
systems, while others run on a wide variety of hardware and operating systems. A DBMS requires a minimum
amount of main memory and disk space to run, but this minimum configuration may not necessarily give acceptable
performance.
Software:- The software component comprises the DBMS software itself and the application programs, together
with the operating system, including network software if the DBMS is being used over a network. Typically,
application programs are written in a third-generation programming language (3GL), such as C, C++, C#, Java,
Visual Basic, COBOL, Fortran, Ada, or Pascal, or a fourth-generation language (4GL), such as SQL, embedded in a
third-generation language. The target DBMS may have its own fourth-generation tools that allow rapid development
of applications through the provision of non-procedural query languages, reports generators, forms generators,
graphics generators, and application generators. The use of fourth-generation tools can improve productivity
significantly and produce programs that are easier to maintain.
Data:- The most important component of the DBMS environment is Data. In figure 1.1, we can observe that the data
acts as a bridge between the machine components and human components.
Procedures:- Procedures are the instructions and rules that govern the design and use of the database. The
documented procedures on how to use or run the system are required for the users of the system. These may
consist of instructions on how to: Log on to the DBMS, Use a particular DBMS facility or application program, Start
and stop the DBMS, Make backup copies of the database, Handle hardware or software failures. This may include
procedures on how to identify the failed component, how to fix the failed component, and following the repair of the
fault, how to recover the database, Change the structure of a table, reorganize the database across multiple disks,
improve performance, or archive data to secondary storage.
People:- The final component is the people or the users involved with the system. We can identify four distinct types
of people who participate in the DBMS environment: data and database administrators, database designers,
application developers, and end-users.

 Data and Database Administrators:- The database and the DBMS are corporate resources that must be managed
like any other resource. Data and database administration are the roles generally associated with the management
and control of a DBMS and its data. The Data Administrator (DA) is responsible for the management of the data
resource, including database planning; development and maintenance of standards, policies, and procedures; and
conceptual/logical database design. The DA consults with and advises senior managers, ensuring that the direction
of database development will ultimately support corporate objectives. The Database Administrator (DBA) is
responsible for the physical realization of the database, including physical database design and implementation,
security and integrity control, maintenance of the operational system, and ensuring satisfactory performance of the
applications for users. The role of the DBA is more technically oriented than the role of the DA, requiring detailed
knowledge of the target DBMS and the system environment. In some organizations there is no distinction between
these two roles; in others, the importance of the corporate resources is reflected in the allocation of teams of staff
dedicated to each of these roles.

 Database Designers: In large database design projects, we can distinguish between two types of designers: logical
database designers and physical database designers. The logical database designer is concerned with identifying
the data (that is, the entities and attributes), the relationships between the data, and the constraints on the data that
is to be stored in the database. The logical database designer must have a thorough and complete understanding of
the organization’s data and any constraints on this data (the constraints are sometimes called business rules).
These constraints describe the main characteristics of the data as viewed by the organization. The physical
database designer decides how the logical database design is to be physically realized. This involves mapping the
logical database design into a set of tables and integrity constraints; selecting specific storage structures and access
methods for the data to achieve good performance; designing any security measures required on the data. The
physical database designer must be capable of selecting suitable storage strategy that takes account of usage.
Whereas conceptual & logical database design is concerned with the what, physical database design is concerned
with the how.
  Application Developers: Once the database has been implemented, the application programs that provide the
required functionality for the end-users must be implemented. This is the responsibility of the application developers.
Typically, the application developers work from a specification produced by systems analysts. Each program
contains statements that request the DBMS to perform some operation on the database, which includes retrieving
data, inserting, updating, and deleting data. The programs may be written in a third-generation or fourth-generation
programming language.

 End-Users:- The end-users are the “clients” of the database, which has been designed and implemented and is
being maintained to serve their information needs.

1.3 Database System Applications:-

Databases form an essential part of every enterprise today, storing not only types of information that are common to
most enterprises but also information that is specific to the category of the enterprise. The Internet revolution of the
late 1990s sharply increased direct user access to databases. Organizations converted many of their phone
interfaces to databases into Web interfaces and made a variety of services and information available online. For
instance, when you access an online bookstore and browse a book or music collection, you are accessing data
stored in a database. When you enter an order online, your order is stored in a database. When you access a bank
website and retrieve your bank balance and transaction information, the information is retrieved from the bank’s
database system. When you access a Web site, information about you may be retrieved from a database to select
which advertisements you should see. Furthermore, data about your Web accesses may be stored in a database.
Some applications are discussed below:
 Telecommunication:- For keeping records of calls made, generating monthly bills, maintaining balances on prepaid
calling cards, and storing information about the communication networks.
 Airlines:- For reservations and schedule information. Airlines were among the first to use databases in a
geographically distributed manner.

Enterprise Information:-
 Sales: For the customer, product, and purchase information.
 Accounting: For payments, receipts, account balances, assets, and other accounting information.
 Human resources: For information about employees, salaries, payroll taxes, and benefits, and for the generation of
paychecks.
 Manufacturing: For the management of the supply chain and for tracking the production of items in factories,
inventories of items in warehouses and stores, and orders for items.
 Online retailers: For sales data noted above plus online order tracking, generation of recommendation lists, and
maintenance of online product evaluations.
Banking and Finance:-
 Banking: For customer information, accounts, loans, and banking transactions.
 Credit card transactions: For purchases on credit cards and generation of monthly statements.
 Finance: For storing information about holdings, sales, and purchases of financial instruments such as stocks and
bonds; also for storing real-time market data to enable online trading by customers and automated trading by the
firm.

 Universities:- For student information, course registrations, and grades (in addition to standard enterprise
information such as human resources and accounting).
The application of a database system can be depicted in the following example for using the internet. Many
of the sites on the Internet are driven by database applications. For example, you may visit an online bookstore that
allows you to browse and buy books, such as Amazon.com. The bookstore allows you to browse books in different
categories, such as computing or management, or by author name. In either case, there is a database on the
organization’s Web server that consists of book details, availability, shipping information, stock levels, and order
history. Book details include book titles, ISBNs, authors, prices, sales histories, publishers, reviews, and detailed
descriptions. The database allows books to be cross-referenced: for example, a book may be listed under several
categories, such as computing, programming languages, bestsellers, and recommended titles. The cross-
referencing also allows Amazon to give you information on other books that are typically ordered along with the title
you are interested in. You can provide your credit card details to purchase one or more books online. Amazon.com
personalizes its service for customers who return to its site by keeping a record of all previous transactions, including
items purchased, shipping, and credit card details. When you return to the site, you might be greeted by name and
presented with a list of recommended titles based on previous purchases.

1.4 Advantages of DBMS:-

The database management system has promising potential advantages.
 Control of data redundancy:- The traditional file-based systems waste space by storing the same information in more
than one file. In contrast, the database approach attempts to eliminate the redundancy by integrating the files so that
multiple copies of the same data are not stored. However, the database approach does not eliminate redundancy
entirely but controls the amount of redundancy inherent in the database. Sometimes it is necessary to duplicate key
data items to model relationships; at other times, it is desirable to duplicate some data items to improve
performance.
 Data consistency:- By eliminating or controlling redundancy, we reduce the risk of inconsistencies occurring. If a
data item is stored only once in the database, any update to its value has to be performed only once and the new
value is available immediately to all users. If a data item is stored more than once and the system is aware of this,
the system can ensure that all copies of the item are kept consistent. Unfortunately, many of today’s DBMSs do not
automatically insure this type of consistency.
 More information from the same data:- With the integration of the operational data, it may be possible for the
organization to derive additional. Information from the same data.
 Sharing of data:- Typically, files are owned by the people or departments that use them. On the other hand, the
database belongs to the entire organization and can be shared by all authorized users. In this way, more users
share more of the data. Furthermore, new applications can build on the existing data in the database and add only
data that is not currently stored, rather than having to define all data requirements again. The new applications can
also rely on the functions provided by the DBMS, such as data definition and manipulation, and concurrency and
recovery control, rather than having to provide these functions themselves.
 Improved data integrity:- Database integrity refers to the validity and consistency of stored data. Integrity is usually
expressed in terms of constraints, which are consistency rules that the database is not permitted to violate.
Constraints may apply to data items within a single record or to relationships between records. The integration
allows the DBA to define integrity constraints, and the DBMS to enforce them.
 Improved security:- Database security is the protection of the database from unauthorized users. Without suitable
security measures, integration makes the data more vulnerable than file-based systems. However, integration allows
the DBA to define database security, and the DBMS to enforce it. This security may take the form of usernames and
passwords to identify people authorized to use the database. The access that an authorized user is allowed on the
data may be restricted by the operation type (retrieval, insert, update, delete). For example, the DBA has access to
all the data in the database; a branch manager may have access to all data that relates to his or her branch office,
and a sales assistant may have access to all data relating to properties but no access to sensitive data such as staff
salary details.
 Enforcement of standards:- Again, integration allows the DBA to define and the DBMS to enforce the necessary
standards. These may include departmental, organizational, national, or international standards for such things as
data formats to facilitate the exchange of data between systems, naming conventions, documentation standards,
update procedures, and access rules.
 The economy of scale:- Combining all the organization’s operational data into one database and creating a set of
applications that work on this one source of data can result in cost savings. In this case, the budget that would
normally be allocated to each department for the development and maintenance of its file-based system can be
combined, possibly resulting in a lower total cost, leading to an economy of scale. The combined budget can be
used to buy a system configuration that is more suited to the organization’s needs. This may consist of one large,
powerful computer or a network of smaller computers.
 Balance of conflicting requirements:- Each user or department has needs that may be in conflict with the needs
of other users. Because the database is under the control of the DBA, the DBA can make decisions about the design
and operational use of the database that provide the best use of resources for the organization as a whole. These
decisions will provide optimal performance for important applications, possibly at the expense of less-critical ones.
 Improved data accessibility and responsiveness:- Again, as a result of integration, data that crosses
departmental boundaries is directly accessible to the end-users. This provides a system with potentially much more
functionality that can, for example, be used to provide better services to the end-user or the organization’s clients.
Many DBMSs provide query languages or report writers that allow users to ask ad hoc questions and to obtain the
required information almost immediately at their terminal, without requiring a programmer to write some software to
extract this information from the database.
 Increased productivity:- The DBMS provides many of the standard functions that the programmer would normally
have to write in a file-based application. At a basic level, the DBMS provides all the low-level file-handling routines
that are typical in application programs. The provision of these functions allows the programmer to concentrate on
the specific functionality required by the users without having to worry about low-level implementation details. Many
DBMSs also provide a fourth-generation environment, consisting of tools to simplify the development of database
applications. This results in increased programmer productivity and reduced development time (with associated cost
savings).
 Improved maintenance through data independence :- In file-based systems, the descriptions of the data and the
logic for accessing the data are built into each application program, making the programs dependent on the data. A
change to the structure of the data—such as making an address 41 characters instead of 40 characters, or a change
to the way the data is stored on disk—can require substantial alterations to the programs that are affected by the
change. In contrast, a DBMS separates the data descriptions from the applications, thereby making applications
immune to changes in the data descriptions. This is known as data independence. The provision of data
independence simplifies database application maintenance.
 Increased concurrency:- In some file-based systems, if two or more users are allowed to access the same file
simultaneously, it is possible that the accesses will interfere with each other, resulting in loss of information or even
loss of integrity. Many DBMSs manage concurrent database access and ensure that such problems cannot occur.
 Improved backup and recovery services:- Many file-based systems place the responsibility on the user to provide
measures to protect the data from failures to the computer system or application program. This may involve
performing a nightly backup of the data. In the event of a failure during the next day, the backup is restored and the
work that has taken place since this backup is lost and has to be re-entered. In contrast, modern DBMSs provide
facilities to minimize the amount of processing that is lost following a failure.
1.5 Disadvantages of DBMS:- The disadvantages of the database approach are given below:
 Complexity:- The provision of the functionality that we expect of a good DBMS makes the DBMS an extremely
complex piece of software. Database designers and developers, data and database administrators, and end-users
must understand this functionality to take full advantage of it. Failure to understand the system can lead to bad
design decisions, which can have serious consequences for an organization.
 Size:- The complexity and breadth of functionality make the DBMS an extremely large piece of software, occupying
many megabytes of disk space and requiring substantial amounts of memory to run efficiently.
 Cost of DBMSs:- The cost of DBMSs varies significantly, depending on the environment and functionality provided.
For example, a single-user DBMS for a personal computer may only cost $100. However, a large mainframe multi-
user DBMS servicing hundreds of users can be extremely expensive, perhaps $100,000 or even $1,000,000. There
is also the recurrent annual maintenance cost, which is typically a percentage of the list price.
 Additional hardware costs:- The disk storage requirements for the DBMS and the database may necessitate the
purchase of additional storage space. Furthermore, to achieve the required performance, it may be necessary to
purchase a larger machine, perhaps even a machine dedicated to running the DBMS. The procurement of additional
hardware results in further expenditure.
 Cost of conversion:- In some situations, the cost of the DBMS and extra hardware may be relatively small
compared with the cost of converting existing applications to run on the new DBMS and hardware. This cost also
includes the cost of training staff to use these new systems, and possibly the employment of specialist staff to help
with the conversion and running of the systems. This cost is one of the main reasons why some organizations feel
tied to their current systems and cannot switch to more modern database technology. The term legacy system is
sometimes used to refer to an older, and usually inferior, system.
 Performance:- Typically, a file-based system is written for a specific application, such as invoicing. As a result,
performance is generally very good. However, the DBMS is written to be more general, to cater to many applications
rather than just one. The result is that some applications may not run as fast as they used to.
 The greater impact of a failure:-The centralization of resources increases the vulnerability of the system. Because
all users and applications rely on the availability of the DBMS, the failure of certain components can bring operations
to a halt.

1.6 Summary:-
 A database is a shared collection of logically related data and a description of this data, designed to meet the
information needs of an organization.
 A DBMS is a software system that enables users to define, create, maintain, and control access to the database.
 An application program is a computer program that interacts with the database by issuing an appropriate request
(typically a SQL statement) to the DBMS.
 The DBMS environment consists of hardware (the computer), software (the DBMS, operating system, and
applications programs), data, procedures, and people. The people include data and database administrators,
database designers, application developers, and end-users.
 Some prominent database system applications can be seen in the field of telecommunication, airlines, banking &
financial services.
 Some advantages of the database approach include control of data redundancy, data consistency, sharing of data,
and improved security and integrity. Some disadvantages include complexity, cost, reduced performance, and higher
impact of a failure.

1.7 Key Terms:-

 Data Definition Language (DDL):- DDL is the language provided by the DBMS to allow users to define the
database
 Data Manipulation Language (DML):- DML is the language provided by the DBMS to allow users to insert, update,
delete, and retrieve data from the database.
 Structured Query Language (SQL):- It is a typical programming language used to operate databases, especially
relational databases.
 Entity:- An entity is a distinct object (a person, place, thing, concept, or event) in the organization that is to be
represented in the database.
 Attribute:- An attribute is a property that describes some aspect of the object that is to be recorded.
 Data Redundancy:- It refers to the repetition of the same data at two different places in a common database.

1.8 Check Your Progress:-

Short- Answer Type:
Q.1 Define Database management system.
Q.2 ________ is used to insert, update, delete, and retrieve data from the database.
Q.3 Full form of SQL: a) Structured Query Language
Q.4 DDL is the language provided by the DBMS to allow users to define the database. True/ False?
Q.5 The DBMS is a general-purpose software system that facilitates the processes of:
a) Defining b) constructing c) manipulating d) All of the above
Long- Answer Type:-
Q.1 State at least five advantages and disadvantages of DBMS.
Q.2 Explain the purpose and significance of DBMS.
Q.3 Define the terms of : a) Database b) DDL c) DML
Q.4 List different types of database users.
Q.5 Write a short note on components of the DBMS environment.