1.

2 SYSTEM SPECIFICATION

The system is advised to run under the following hardware and software
specifications.

1.2.1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

System : Pentium Class or AMD

Processor Speed : 500 MHZ
Memory : 64 MB RAM
Hard disk : 15 GB

1.2.2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Front End : VISUAL BASIC 6.0

Back End : ORACLE 8
Operating System : WINDOWS 98 / 2000 / XP

APPENDIX

8.1 VISUAL BASIC 6.0

INTRODUCTION

Visual Basic is an ideal programming language for developing sophisticated

professional application for Microsoft windows. It makes use of graphical user interface as
the name suggests uses illustration to test with enable uses to interact
With applications.

This features makes it is a to comprehend things in a quicker and easier way.

The system environment is proposed to be developed in Visual Basic 6.0 under windows
operating system environment. The features of the software are given below.

Visual Basic 6.0

 Visual Basic is one of the most existing programs for micro computer system in
market today. This revolutionary programming language from Microsoft was released in the
mid of 1991. With the introduction of visual Basic a new era had begin “Event Driven
programming”. With Visual Basic u can write full-fledged windows application.

EVENT DRIVEN PROGRAMMING

Application built Visual Basic event driven, i.e., the process depends on the user.
Visual Basic as a set off tool, used to create the object making upon application. Visual Basic
applications consist of a set of object, each object can respond to certain events.

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI)

Visual Basic is a GUI product running under various windows environment. A GUI
acts as a friendly “FRONT-END” making it carrier to interface with the computer.

MAIN ASPECTS

Instead of typing command lines, this operations or carried out by pointing at icons on
the screen are selecting form menus and this greatly reduce the amount to learn and
remember. It allows us to run several programs at ones each in its own “windows”. You can
switch rapidly between them and transfer data easily from one to another.

In a GUI environment the number of options open to a user is much greater, allowing
more freedom to the user and thereby accessing the GUI in an efficient way.

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT (IDE)

The Visual Basic integrated Development Environment consists of the followings

elements:

MENU BAR
 Display the commands you see to work with Visual Basic besides the standard File, Edit,
View, Window & Help Menus. Menus are provided to access functions specific to
programming such as project format or debug.

TOOL BAR

It provides quick access to commonly in commands in the programming environment.

You click button on the tool bar once, to carry out the action represented by the button.

TOOL BOX

Toll Box contains a set of tool that are used to place controls on a form design. The
printer provides a way to move and resize the controls and the controls and forms.

Label displays a text that the user can’t modify or interact. Frame control serves as a
virtual and functional container for controls. Check box displays a true/false or yes/no option.
List box displays a list of items from which a user can select one. Combo Box contains a text
box and a list box. Timer control executes the timer events at a special interval within the
specified range of values. Shape control Adds a shape (rectangle, square, and circle ) to a
form. Image control is used to link or embed object, displays and manipulates choices. Drive
list box displays a set of files from which a user can select the desired one Line control draws
a straight line to the from. Data Control enables the user to connect to an existing table and
display information from it.

PROJECT EXPLORE WINDOW

List the forms & modules in your current project. A project is collection of files. You
can use to build an applications. For example you can quickly make visible the program code
for any form or module. As you add, delete, and create new file the project window updates
the file list.

PROPERTIES WINDOW
 List the property setting for the selected from or control. A property is characterized
of an object, such as size, caption or color. Property window specifies the attributes or
various objects in your applications. These objects include forms and the graphical controls
you place on them.

CODE WINDOW

For forms, the object box lists the current form and all the controls(objects) on the
current form.

PROCEDURE BOX

It lists all the events recognized by Visual Basic for the forms/controls displayed in
the object box. When you select an event, either event is displayed.

VB COMPONENTS

The backbone of most every application in visual Basic is a form.

PROCEDURE BOX

The designed forms are the interface to the user. Forms encompass everything that
happens within a window, like drawing of the window, display and entry of data processing
of results of user input.

MULTIPLE DOCUMENT INTERFACE

An MDI is used for opening many forms at the same time. VB applications can have
only one container form[MDI form], which contains all the child forms. Child forms are
displayed within the intervals are of an MDI form at a run time.

CONTROLS
 These are objects put on the form to display information, graphics or to get response
form the user or both. Every practical Visual Basic applications user control is placed on the
form. Visual Basic controls Are classifieds as

1. Standard controls
2. Custom controls

1. STANDARD CONTROLS

POINTERS, Timers, Label, Frame, check Box, scroll Bar, Dirlist Box, File list box,
shape, image , OLE picture Box, command Button, Options Button, List Box, Line , Data
control . these controls are EXE controls. They are included in the tool bar. It cannot be
removed.

2. CUSTOM CONTOLS
An object that you place on a form to enable or enhance user’s interaction with an
application. These controls have an OCX file name extension.

MENU INTERFACE

Adding a custom menu for the application and defining their properties can enhance
Visual Basic operations. It offers a convenient and consistent way to group commands and
easy way for users to access them.

DIALOG BOX

Dialog box are used to display information to the user and to prompt to the user
for the data needed to continue an application. It can be classified as
1. Predefined dialog box
2. Custom dialog box
3. Standard dialog box

PRE-DEFINED DIALOG BOX

 Create using Input box () and Msgbox () function.

CUSTOM DIALOG BOX

Created by adding controls to the form or by customizing an existing dialog box.

CONTROL ARRAY

It is a group controls that share the same type and same name and also shares same
events/procedure and properties. Adding controls with control array using fewer resources
then we use multiple control of same type at design time. One control is much design time.

PROCEDURES

Procedures are useful for condensing required operations such as frequently use
calculations, text and control manipulates etc. Procedures can be function property
procedures.

EVENT PROCEDURES

An event procedure is a procedure block that contains controls name, underscore and
the event name and declared as public.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

It is declared when several event procedures perform the same action.

MODULES

When used in host applications that allow references across multiple projects, option
provide module prevents modules content from being outsides its project.

CLASS MODULES
 Classes can be built by adding custom properties to a form and then templates for use
objects. But more often the most common way to build a new class for a new object in VBG
is it uses a class module. A class module objects contains the code for the custom properties
and method that objects defined. We can create new instances of the class from any module
or form in our project..

1. STANDARD MODULES

A module contains only procedures, types and data declarations and definitions module
level declarations and definitions in a standard module or public by default.

FEATURES OF NEWEST VERSION OF VISUAL BASIC 6.0

These are some of Visual Basic 6.0 advantage over the previous versions:
The User can generate 32-bit applications both in window 2000 and Windows NT
with no extra work.
The user can take the advantage of MS-OLE and ActiveX designers, Active x
controls, ActiveX documents and active DLLS.
The user can built programs using some technique of OOPS.
8.2 ORACLE

INTRODUCTION TO ORACLE

Oracle8 is an Object Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS). It offers

capabilities of relational and object oriented database system. Oracle products are based on
Client/Server Technology. In this technology server performs al activities related to the
database and the client performs activities that help the user to interact with the application.

TOOLS OF ORACLE

 SQL *Plus
 PL/SQL
 Forms
 Reports
SQL *PLUS

SQL *Plus is a Structured Query Language supported by Oracle. Through SQL *Plus
we can store, retrieve, edit and run SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks. Using SQL *Plus we
can perform calculations, list column definitions for any table and can also format query
results in the form of a report.

PL/SQL

PL/SQL is an extension of SQL. PL/SQL block can contain any number of SQL
statements integrated with flow of control statements. PL/SQL is a procedural language for
the oracle server and its client. In a PL/SQL program, SQL statements are used for data
manipulation and transaction processing.

FORMS

Form is a graphical tool used for generating and executing forms based applications.
A form basically consists of block and fields. Multiple tables can be accessed over a single
form base application with the help of transaction commands. Oracle form builder is the
design component of oracle forms.

REPORTS

It is an application development tool of oracle for developing, executing, displaying

and printing reports. We can create wide variety of reports, which have various modes.
Oracle Reports are powerful and easy to use.

CODD’S RULES FOR A FULLY RELATIONAL DBMS

According to Elmasri and Navathe (1994), Dr. E.F.Codd, the originator of the
relational data model, published a two-part article in Computer World (Codd, 1985) that lists
12 rules for how to determine whether a DBMS is relational and to what extent it is
relational. These rules provide a very useful yardstick for evaluating a relational system.
Codd also mentions that, according to these rules, no fully relational system is available yet.
In particular, rules 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are difficult to satisfy.
THE 12 RULES

Rule 1: The Information Rule

All information in a relational database is represented explicitly at the logical level in

exactly one way-by values in tables.

Rule 2: Guaranteed Access Rule

Each and every datum (atomic value) in a relational database is guaranteed to be

logically accessible by resorting to a table name, primary key value, and column name.

Rule 3: Systematic Treatment of Null Values

Null values (distinct from empty character string or a string of blank characters and
distinct from zero or any other number) are supported in the fully relational DBMS for
representing mission information in a systematic way, independent of data type.

Rule 4: Dynamic On-line Catalog Based on the Relational Model

The database description represented at the logical level in the same way as ordinary
data, so authorized users can apply the same relational language to its interrogation as they
apply to regular data.

Rule 5: Comprehensive Data Sublanguage Rule

A relational system may support several languages and various modes of terminal use
(for example, the fill-in-blanks mode). However, there must be at least one language whose
statements are expressible per some well-defined syntax, as character strings and whose
ability to support all of the following is comprehensible: data definition, view definition, data
manipulation (interactive and b program), integrity constraints, and transaction boundaries
(begin, commit and rollback).
Rule 6: View Updating Rule

All views that are theoretically updateable are also updateable by the system.

Rule 7: High-level Insert, Update and Delete

The capability neither of handling a base relation or a derived relation as a single

operand applies nor only to the retrieval of data but also to the insertion, update, and deletion
of data.

Rule 8: Physical Data Independence

Application programs and terminal activities remain logically unimpaired whenever

any changes are made in either storage representation or access methods.

Rule 9: Logical Data Independence

Application programs and terminal activities remain logically unimpaired when

information preserving changes of any kind that theoretically permit unimpairment are made
to the base tables.

Rule 10: Integrity Independence

Integrity constraints specific to a particular relational database must be definable in the

relational data sublanguage and storable in the catalog, not in the application programs.

A minimum of the following two integrity constraints must be supported:

1. Entity integrity: No components of a primary key is allowed to have a null value.

2. Referential integrity: For each distinct non-null foreign key value in a relational data-
base, there must exist a matching primary key value from the same domain.
Rule 11: Distribution Independence

A relational DBMS has distribution independence. Distribution independence implies that

users should not have to be aware of whether a database is distributed.

Rule 12: Non-subversion Rule

If a relational system has a low-level (single-record-at-a-time) language, that low-level

language cannot be used to subvert or bypass the integrity rules or constraints expressed in
the higher-level (multiple-records-at-a-time) relational language.

File System Data Management

 Requires extensive programming, typically in Third Generation Language (3GL)

 Leads to islands of information and data redundancy
 Difficult to make ad hoc queries to obtain information
 Difficult to maintain data integrity

Data and Structural Dependence

 Data characteristics are embodied in programs not stored with the data.
 Changes in data characteristics requires modifying programs
 Changes in file structures require modification of related programs

Data Redundancy

 Different and possibly conflicting versions of same data

 Results in problems during data:
o Modification (e.g. address changes)
o Insertion
 o Deletion
 Data inconsistency: Lack of integrity

Database Systems

 Database consists of logically related data stored in a single repository

 Advantages over file system management approach:
o Eliminates inconsistency, data anomalies, data dependency, and structural
dependency problems
o Stores data structures, relationships, and access paths

Uses of Databases

 Transactional (or production):

o Supports a company’s day-to-day operations
 Data warehouse:
o Stores data used to generate information required to make tactical or
strategic decisions
o Such decisions typically require “data massaging”
o Often used to store historical data
o Structure is quite different

DBMS Functions

 Metadata/Data Dictionary Management

 Data storage management
 Data transformation and presentation
 Security management and Multiuser access control
 Backup and recovery management
  Data integrity management
 Database language and application programming interfaces
 Database communication interfaces

Database Models

Collection of logical constructs used to represent data structure and relationships

 Conceptual Models: logical nature of data representation

 Implementation Models: how data are represented

Database Models

The hierarchical and network models are of historical interest only.

 Relational

 Entity-Relationship

 Object oriented

Relational Model

 Most common model

 Perceived by user as collection of tables containing data
 Actually has a formal definition based on set theory
 Tables are a series of row/column intersections
 Tables related by sharing common entity characteristic(s)

Limitations on System Assigned Keys

 System-assigned primary key may not prevent confusing entries

 Data entries in Table 5.2 are inappropriate because they duplicate existing records
 Yet there has been no violation of either entity integrity or referential integrity
 Perhaps Job Description needs to be unique