Fundamentals of database systems

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 Chapter 1
Introduction Database
Outline
 Introduction to database system
 File based verses Database approach
 Characteristics of the Database Approach
 Users and actors of Database system

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 Introduction to database system
 A database is a collection of related data.
 For example, names, telephone numbers, and addresses
 Databases and database systems are an essential component
of life in modern society
 In the past few years, advances in technology have led to
exciting new applications of database systems.
 New media technology has made it possible to store images,
audio clips, and video streams digitally. These types of files are
becoming an important component of multimedia databases.
 Geographic information systems (GIS) can store and analyze
maps, weather data, and satellite images.
 Data warehouses and online analytical processing
(OLAP) systems are used in many companies to extract and analyze
useful business information from very large databases to support
decision making.
 Real-time and active database technology is used
to control industrial and manufacturing processes.
 This collection of related data with an implicit meaning is a
database.
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 Cont’d..
A database has the following implicit properties:
 A database represents some aspect of the real world,
sometimes called the mini-world or the universe of
discourse (UoD).
 A database is a logically coherent collection of data
with some inherent meaning.
 A random assortment(hodgepodge) of data cannot
correctly be referred to as a database.
 A database is designed, built, and populated with data
for a specific purpose.
 It has an intended group of users and some
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 Cont’d…
 A database management system (DBMS) is a collection of
programs that enables users to create and maintain a database.
 The DBMS is a general-purpose software system that
facilitates the processes of defining, constructing,
manipulating, and sharing databases among various users and
applications.
 Defining a database involves specifying the data types,
structures, and constraints/restrictions of the data to be stored
in the database.
 The database definition or descriptive information is also
stored by the DBMS in the form of a database
catalog(list/collection) or dictionary, it is called meta-data.
 Constructing the database is the process of storing the data on
some storage medium that is controlled by the DBMS.

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 Cont’d…
A typical large database may have a life cycle of many
years, so the DBMS must be able to maintain the database
system by allowing the system to evolve as requirements
change over time.

 To complete our initial definitions, we will call the

database and DBMS software together a database system.

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 File-Based Approach verses Database Approach

File-based System
 File-based systems were an early attempt to
computerize the manual filing system.
 File-based system is a collection of application
programs that perform services for the end-users.
 Each program defines and manages its data.
 Each user defines and creates with a specific
software the files he needs for a specific
application e.g.. Spread sheet
 However, five types of problem are occurred in
using the file-based approach:
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 Problems of using file based approach
 Separation and isolation of data
When data is isolated in separate files, it is more
difficult for us to access data that should be
available.
 Duplication of data
 Duplication is wasteful
 Duplication can lead to
 Loss of data integrity
 Data dependence
The physical structure and storage of the data files
and records are defined in the application program
code.
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 Incompatible file formats
The structures of the file are dependent on the application
programming language. However file structure provided in one
programming language such as direct file, indexed-sequential file
which is available in COBOL programming, may be different from
the structure generated by other programming language such as C.
 Fixed queries / proliferation (production) of application
programs
File-based systems are very dependent upon the application programmer.

Any required queries or reports have to be written by the application programmer.

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 Database Approach:
In order to overcome the limitations of the file-based
approach, the concept of database and the Database
Management System (DMS) was emerged in 1960s.
Advantages of database approach
1. Control of data redundancy
The database approach attempts to eliminate the
redundancy by integrating the file.
2. Data consistency
By eliminating or controlling redundancy, the database
approach reduces the risk of inconsistencies occurring.
3. More information from the same amount of data
With the integration of the operated data in the database
approach, it may be possible to derive additional
information for the same data.
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4. Sharing of data
5.Improved data integrity
6.Improved security
7.Enforcement of standards
The integration of the database enforces the
necessary standards including data formats,
naming conventions, documentation standards,
update procedures and access rules.
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Cont’d...
8. Economy of scale
9. Balance of conflicting requirements
10. Improved data accessibility and responsiveness
By having an integration in the database approach, data
accessing can be crossed departmental boundaries.
11. Increased productivity
12. Improved maintenance
Database approach provides a data independence. As a
change of data structure in the database will be affect
the application program, it simplifies database
application maintenance.
13. Increased concurrency
14. Improved backing and recovery services

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Disadvantage of database approach
A. Complexity
B. Size
C. Cost of DBMS
D. Cost of conversion
E. Performance
F. Higher impact of a failure

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 Characteristics of database approach
The main characteristics of the database approach
versus the file-processing approach are the following:
 Self-describing nature of a database system
 Insulation between programs and data, and data
abstraction
 Support of multiple views of the data
 Sharing of data and multiuser transaction
processing

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 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 catalog, 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 catalog is called meta-data, and it

describes the structure of the primary database.

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 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
catalog separately from the access programs.
 We call this property program-data independence.

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 Support of Multiple Views of the Data
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.

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 Sharing of data and multiuser transaction processing

A multiuser DBMS, as its name implies, must allow

multiple users to access the data-base at the same time.
 This is essential if data for multiple applications is to be
integrated and maintained in a single database.
 The concept of a transaction has become central to many
database applications.
A transaction is an executing program or process that
includes one or more database accesses, such as reading
or updating of database records.
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 Users and actors of Database system

1.Database administrator (DBA)

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.

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 Cont’d…
2.Database designers
 They are responsible for identifying the data to be
stored in the data-base 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.

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 Cont’d...
3.End users
They are the people whose jobs require access to the
database for querying,
updating, and generating reports; the database
primarily exists for their use.
There are several categories of end users:
A. Casual end users occasionally access the database,
but they may need different information each time.
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 Cont’d……
B. Naive or parametric end users 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.

C. Sophisticated end users include engineers, scientists, business analysts,

and others who thoroughly familiarize themselves with the facilities of the
DBMS in order to implement their own applications to meet their complex
requirements.

D. Standalone users maintain personal databases by using ready-made pro-

gram packages that provide easy-to-use menu-based or graphics-based
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4. System Analysts and Application 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 recorded transactions.

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