DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

YUSUF MAITAMA SULE UNIVERSITY KANO

GEO4308: Geospatial Database Management System

Unit 1: Overview of Geospatial Database Management system

Database Management System (DBMS)

A database management system (DBMS) is a set of computer program that controls the creation,
maintenance, stores, retrieves, define and manage data in a database.in other words, DBMS is a
software package designed to define, manipulate, retrieve and manage data in a database. It is a
software for storing and retrieving users' data by considering appropriate security measures. It
allows users to create their own databases as per their requirement. A DBMS generally
manipulates the data itself, the data format, field names, record structure and file structure. It also
defines rules to validate and manipulate this data.

A database is a collection of related data which represents some aspect of the real world. It is
simply a collection of related tables. A database system is designed to be built and populated with
data for a certain task. The term ‘database’ is also defined as any collection of electronic records
that can be processed to produce useful information. The data can be accessed, modified,
managed, controlled and organized to perform various data-processing operations. The data is
typically indexed across rows, columns and tables that make workload processing and data
querying efficient. Different types of databases include: object-oriented, relational, distributed,
hierarchical, network, and others.

DBMS are valuable because they provide secure means of storing and updating data. They
provide transaction functions that allows multiples users to edit the database simultaneously.

History of DBMS
Here, are the important landmarks from the history:
1960 - Charles Bachman designed first DBMS system
1970 - Codd introduced IBM'S Information Management System (IMS)
1976- Peter Chen coined and defined the Entity-relationship model also known as the ER
model
1980 - Relational Model becomes a widely accepted database component
1985- Object-oriented DBMS develops.
 1990s- Incorporation of object-orientation in relational DBMS.
1991- Microsoft ships MS access, a personal DBMS and that displaces all other personal
DBMS products.
1995: First Internet database applications
1997: XML applied to database processing. Many vendors begin to integrate XML into DBMS
products.
Application of DBMS
Banking; For customer information, account activities, payments, deposits, loans, etc.
Airlines; For reservations and schedule information.
Universities; For student information, course registrations, colleges and grades.
Telecommunication; It helps to keep call records, monthly bills, maintaining balances, etc.
Finance; For storing information about stock, sales, and purchases of financial instruments
like stocks and bonds.
Sales; Use for storing customer, product & sales information.
Manufacturing; It is used for the management of supply chain and for tracking production
of items. Inventories status in warehouses.
Types of DBMS
Four Types of DBMS systems are:
Hierarchical, Network, Relational & Object-Oriented DBMS
1. Hierarchical DBMS
In a Hierarchical database, model data is organized in a tree-like structure. Data is Stored
Hierarchically (top down or bottom up) format. Data is
represented using a parent-child relationship. In Hierarchical
DBMS parent may have many children, but children have
only one parent.
2. Network Model
The network database model allows each child to have
multiple parents. It helps you to address the need to model
more complex relationships like as the orders/parts many-to-
many relationship. In this model, entities are organized in a
graph which can be accessed through several paths.
Fig 1 hierarchical Dbase Model
 fig 2: Network Dbase Model

Relational model
Relational DBMS is the most widely used DBMS model because it is one of the easiest. This
model is based on normalizing data in the rows and columns of the tables. Relational model
stored in fixed structures and manipulated using SQL.

fig 3. Relational Dbase model

3. Object-Oriented Model
In Object-oriented Model data stored in the form of objects. The structure which is called classes
which display data within it. It defines a database as a collection of objects which stores both data
members values and operations.
Advantages of DBMS

 DBMS offers a variety of techniques to store & retrieve data

 DBMS serves as an efficient handler to balance the needs of multiple applications using
the same data
 Uniform administration procedures for data
 Application programmers never exposed to details of data representation and storage.
 A DBMS uses various powerful functions to store and retrieve data efficiently.
 Offers Data Integrity and Security
 The DBMS implies integrity constraints to get a high level of protection against prohibited
access to data.
 A DBMS schedules concurrent access to the data in such a manner that only one user can
access the same data at a time
  Reduced Application Development Time
Disadvantage of DBMS

 DBMS may offer plenty of advantages but, it has certain flaws-

 Cost of Hardware and Software of a DBMS is quite high which increases the budget of
your organization.
 Most database management systems are often complex systems, so the training for users
to use the DBMS is required.
 In some organizations, all data is integrated into a single database which can be damaged
because of electric failure or database is corrupted on the storage media
 Use of the same program at a time by many users sometimes lead to the loss of some data.
 DBMS can't perform sophisticated calculations
 Functions of DBMS

DBMS Functions'

There are several functions that a DBMS performs to ensure data integrity and consistency of data
in the database. The ten functions in the DBMS are: data dictionary management, data storage
management, data transformation and presentation, security management, multiuser access
control, backup and recovery management, data integrity management, database access languages
and application programming interfaces, database communication interfaces, and transaction
management.

1. Data Dictionary Management

Data Dictionary is where the DBMS stores definitions of the data elements and their relationships
(metadata). The DBMS uses this function to look up the required data component structures and
relationships. When programs access data in a database they are basically going through the
DBMS. This function removes structural and data dependency and provides the user with data
abstraction. In turn, this makes things a lot easier on the end user. The Data Dictionary is often
hidden from the user and is used by Database Administrators and Programmers.

2. Data Storage Management

This particular function is used for the storage of data and any related data entry forms or screen
definitions, report definitions, data validation rules, procedural code, and structures that can
handle video and picture formats. Users do not need to know how data is stored or manipulated.
Also involved with this structure is a term called performance tuning that relates to a database’s
efficiency in relation to storage and access speed.

3. Data Transformation and Presentation

This function exists to transform any data entered into required data structures. By using the data
transformation and presentation function the DBMS can determine the difference between logical
and physical data formats.
4. Security Management

This is one of the most important functions in the DBMS. Security management sets rules that
determine specific users that are allowed to access the database. Users are given a username and
password or sometimes through biometric authentication (such as a fingerprint or retina scan) but
these types of authentications tend to be more costly. This function also sets restraints on what
specific data any user can see or manage.

5. Multiuser Access Control

Data integrity and data consistency are the basis of this function. Multiuser access control is a
very useful tool in a DBMS, it enables multiple users to access the database simultaneously
without affecting the integrity of the database.

6. Backup and Recovery Management

Backup and recovery is brought to mind whenever there is potential outside threats to a database.
For example, if there is a power outage, recovery management is how long it takes to recover the
database after the outage. Backup management refers to the data safety and integrity; for example
backing up all your mp3 files on a disk.

7. Data Integrity Management

The DBMS enforces these rules to reduce things such as data redundancy, which is when data is
stored in more than one place unnecessarily, and maximizing data consistency, making sure
database is returning correct/same answer each time for same question asked.

8. Database Access Languages and Application Programming Interfaces

A query language is a nonprocedural language. An example of this is SQL (structured query

language). SQL is the most common query language supported by the majority of DBMS
vendors. The use of this language makes it easy for user to specify what they want done without
the headache of explaining how to specifically do it.

Components of DBMS

In order to facilitate these functions, DBMS has the following key components:

 Software. DBMS is primarily a software system that can be considered as a management

console or an interface to interact with and manage databases. The interfacing also spreads
across real-world physical systems that contribute data to the backend databases. The OS,
networking software, and the hardware infrastructure is involved in creating, accessing,
managing, and processing the databases. Some of the DBMS software package used are;
  MySQL
 Microsoft Access
 Oracle
 PostgreSQL
 dBASE
 FoxPro
 SQLite
 IBM DB2
 LibreOffice Base
 MariaDB
 Microsoft SQL Server etc.
 Data. DBMS contains operational data, access to database records and metadata as a
resource to perform the necessary functionality. The data may include files with such as
index files, administrative information, and data dictionaries used to represent data flows,
ownership, structure, and relationships to other records or objects.
 Procedures. While not a part of the DBMS software, procedures can be considered as
instructions on using DBMS. The documented guidelines assist users in designing,
modifying, managing, and processing databases.
 Database languages. These are components of the DBMS used to access, modify, store,
and retrieve data items from databases; specify database schema; control user access; and
perform other associated database management operations. Types of DBMS languages
include Data Definition Language (DDL), Data Manipulation Language (DML), Database
Access Language (DAL) and Data Control Language (DCL).
 Query processor. As a fundamental component of the DBMS, the query processor acts as
an intermediary between users and the DBMS data engine in order to communicate query
requests. When users enter an instruction in SQL language, the command is executed from
the high-level language instruction to a low-level language that the underlying machine
can understand and process to perform the appropriate DBMS functionality. In addition to
instruction parsing and translation, the query processor also optimizes queries to ensure
fast processing and accurate results.
 Runtime database manager. A centralized management component of DBMS that
handles functionality associated with runtime data, which is commonly used for context-
based database access. This component checks for user authorization to request the query;
processes the approved queries; devises an optimal strategy for query execution; supports
concurrency so that multiple users can simultaneously work on same databases; and
ensures integrity of data recorded into the databases.
 Database manager. Unlike the runtime database manager that handles queries and data at
runtime, the database manager performs DBMS functionality associated with the data
within databases. Database manager allows a set of commands to perform different DBMS
operations that include creating, deleting, backup, restoring, cloning, and other database
maintenance tasks. The database manager may also be used to update the database with
patches from vendors.
 Database engine. This is the core software component within the DBMS solution that
performs the core functions associated with data storage and retrieval. A database engine
is also accessible via APIs that allow users or apps to create, read, write, and delete
records in databases.
  Reporting. The report generator extracts useful information from DBMS files and
displays it in structured format based on defined specifications. This information may be
used for further analysis, decision making, or business intelligence.

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