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Please read the information below for additional information about Introduction to Database Systems.

INTRODUCTION TO DATABASE SYSTEMS

Characteristics of Database Approach

 Self-describing nature of a database system
A fundamental characteristic of the database approach is that the database system contains not
only the database itself but also a complete definition or description of the database structure and
constraints. This definition is stored in the DBMS catalogue, which contains information such as the
structure of each file, the type and storage format of each data item, and various constraints on the
data. The information stored in the catalogue is called meta-data, and it describes the structure of
the primary database.

 Insulation between programs and data, and data abstraction

In traditional file processing, the structure of data files is embedded in the application programs, so
any changes to the structure of a file may require changing all programs that access that file. By
contrast, DBMS access programs do not require such changes in most cases. The structure of data
files is stored in the DBMS catalogue separately from the access programs. This property is called
program-data independence.
In some types of database systems, such as object-oriented and object-relational systems, users
can define operations on data as part of the database definitions. An operation, also called as
function or method, is specified in two parts. The interface or signature of an operation includes
the operation name and the data types of its arguments or parameters. The implementation or
method of the operation is specified separately and can be changed without affecting the interface.

User application programs can operate on the data by invoking these operations through their
names and arguments, regardless of how the operations are implemented. This may be termed
program-operation independence.
The characteristic that allows program-data independence and program-operation independence
is called data abstraction. A DBMS provides users with a conceptual representation of data that
does not include many of the details of how the data is stored or how the operations are
implemented. Informally, a data model is a type of data abstraction that is used to provide this
conceptual representation. The data model uses logical concepts, such as objects, their properties,
and their interrelationships, that may be easier for most users to understand than computer
storage concepts. Hence, the data model hides storage and implementation details that are not of
interest to most database users.

 Support of multiple views of the data

A database typically has many users, each of whom may require a different perspective or view of
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the database. A view may be a subset of the database or it may contain virtual data that is derived
from the database files but is not explicitly stored. Some users may not need to be aware of
whether the data they refer to is stored or derived. A multiuser DBMS whose users have a variety
of distinct applications must provide facilities for defining multiple views. Sharing of data and
multiuser transaction processing

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 Sharing of Data and Multi-User Transaction Processing

A database typically has many users, each of whom may require a different perspective or view of
the database. A view may be a subset of the database or it may contain virtual data that is derived
from the database files but is not explicitly stored. Some users may not need to be aware of
whether the data they refer to is stored or derived. A multiuser DBMS whose users have a variety
of distinct applications must provide facilities for defining multiple views. Sharing of data and
multiuser transaction processing

Users of Database Systems

People who use large database:
 Database Administrators
The DBA is responsible for authorizing access to the database, coordinating and monitoring its use,
and acquiring software and hardware resources as needed. The DBA is accountable for problems
such as security breaches and poor system response time. In large organizations, the DBA is
assisted by a staff that carries out these functions

 Database Designers
Database designers are responsible for identifying the data to be stored in the database and for
choosing appropriate structures to represent and store this data. It is the responsibility of database
designers to communicate with all prospective database users in order to understand their
requirements and to create a design that meets these requirements. In many cases, the designers
are on the staff of the DBA and may be assigned other staff responsibilities after the database
design is completed. Database designers typically interact with each potential group of users and
develop views of the database that meet the data and processing requirements of these groups.

 End Users
End users are the people whose jobs require access to the database for querying, updating, and
generating reports; the database primarily exists for their use. Categories of end users:
 Casual end users
They access the database, but they may need different information each time. They use a
sophisticated database query language to specify their requests and are typically middleor
high-level managers or other occasional browsers.

 Naïve or parametric end users

They make up a sizable portion of database end users. Their main job function revolves
around constantly querying and updating the database, using standard types of queries
and updates.
 Sophisticated end users
These include engineers, scientists, business analysts, and others who thoroughly
familiarize themselves with the facilities of the DBMS in order to implement their own
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applications to meet their complex requirements.
 Stand-alone users
These users maintain personal databases by using ready-made program packages that
provide easy-to-use menu-based or graphics-based interfaces.

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 System Analysts and Programmers / Software Engineers

System analysts determine the requirements of end users, especially naive and parametric end
users, and develop specifications for standard canned transactions that meet these requirements.
Application programmers implement these specifications as programs; then they test, debug,
document, and maintain these canned transactions.
People who design, develop, implement, and maintain DBMS:

 DBMS System Designers and Implementers

They design and implement the DBMS modules and interfaces as a software package.

 Tool Developers

They design and implement tools—the software packages that facilitate database modeling and
design, database system design, and improved performance. They include packages for database
design, performance monitoring, natural language or graphical interfaces, prototyping, simulation,
and test data generation.

 Operators and Maintenance Personnel

This refers to system administration personnel who is responsible for the actual running and
maintenance of the hardware and software environment for the database system.

Advantages of DBMS Approach

 Controlling Redundancy

Redundancy in storing same data multiple times leads to several problems. This may lead to -
duplication of effort, storage space is wasted when the same data is stored repeatedly, and
files that represent the same data may become inconsistent.

 Restricting Unauthorized Access

When multiple users share a large database, it is likely that most users will not be authorized
to access all information in the database. For example, financial data is often considered
confidential, and only authorized persons are allowed to access such data. In addition, some
users may only be permitted to retrieve data, whereas others are allowed to retrieve and
update. Hence, the type of access operation— retrieval or update—must also be controlled.

 Providing Persistent Storage for Program Objects

Databases can be used to provide persistent storage for program objects and data structures.
This is one of the main reasons for object-oriented database systems. The persistent storage of
program objects and data structures is an important function of database systems. Traditional
database systems often suffered from the so called impedance mismatch problem, since the
data structures provided by the DBMS were incompatible with the programming language’s
data structures. Object-oriented database systems typically offer data structure compatibility
with one or more object-oriented programming languages.
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 Providing Storage Structures and Search Techniques for Efficient Query Processing

Database systems must provide capabilities for efficiently executing queries and updates.
Because the database is typically stored on disk, the DBMS must provide specialized data
structures and search techniques to speed up disk search for the desired records. Auxiliary files

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called indexes are used based on tree data structures or hash data structures that are suitably
modified for disk search.

The query processing and optimization module of the DBMS is responsible for choosing an
efficient query execution plan for each query based on the existing storage structures. The
choice of which indexes to create and maintain is part of physical database design and tuning,
which is one of the responsibilities of the DBA staff.

 Providing Back-up and Recovery

The backup and recovery subsystem of the DBMS is responsible for recovery. For example, if
the computer system fails in the middle of a complex update transaction, the recovery
subsystem is responsible for making sure that the database is restored to the state it was in
before the transaction started executing.

 Providing Multiple User Interfaces

Because many types of users with varying levels of technical knowledge use a database, a
DBMS should provide a variety of user interfaces. These include query languages for casual
users, programming language interfaces for application programmers, forms and command
codes for parametric users, and menu-driven interfaces and natural language interfaces for
standalone users.

 Representing Complex Relationships among Data

DBMS must have the capability to represent a variety of complex relationships among the data,

to define new relationships as they arise, and to retrieve and update related data easily and
efficiently.

 Enforcing Integrity Constraints

Most database applications have certain integrity constraints that must hold for the data. A
DBMS should provide capabilities for defining and enforcing these constraints. The simplest
type of integrity constraint involves specifying a data type for each data item.

 Permitting Inference and Actions Using Rules

Some database systems provide capabilities for defining deduction rules to inference new
information from the stored database facts. Such systems are called deductive database
systems. For example, there may be complex rules in the mini-world application for
determining when a student is on probation. These can be specified declaratively as rules,
which when compiled and maintained by the DBMS. In a traditional DBMS, an explicit
procedural program code would have to be written to support such applications. But if the
mini-world rules change, it is generally more convenient to change the declared deduction
rules than to recode procedural programs. In today’s relational database systems, it is possible
to associate triggers with tables, which is a form of a rule activated by updates to the table,
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resulting in performing some additional operations to some other tables, sending messages,
and others. More involved procedures to enforce rules are popularly called stored procedures;
they become a part of the overall database definition and are invoked appropriately when
certain conditions are met.

(Elmasri, & Navathe, 2011)

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