_ L TOPIC12: DATABASES Database Management systems: refers a piece of software that manages databases and lets you create, edit, maintain, and delete dasoftware which canbe used to manage the data by s Database is any collection of interrelated data that allows access, retrieval, updating and manipulation; itn a digital form, Popular examples of Database Management System software Microsoft Office Acc . Amazon simpl IBM DB2 ess eDB Bento My Structured Query . File Maker Borland Database Eng ine Language(SQL) + Informix DBase My SQL Server + ADABAS FoxPro Oracle + Teradata Paradox Postgres + Microsoft SQL serv er satite Functions of the Database Management Systems Enables one to create summary reports It provides an interface for a user to enter data Enables the use to create forms Allows easy access and retrieval of data_| Allows querying/filtering of some data Common types of databases Aflat file database is made up of only one table. Arelational database can take information from two or more database tab les and combine them into a new table or report th Features of Database Management Software Field-Afieldis a column in a table that contains a specific piece of informati on within a record. Record Arecordis a row in a table that contains information about a given p erson, product, or event. Validation rule-Is a method used to check that data falls within the appropr iate range or parameter defined by the Primary Keyls a field that uniquely identifies a record in a table. Before savi ng a table, you should insert a Foreign key: A key used in one table to represent the value of a primary ke y ina related table. Field name- Database feature assigned to each field to identify the differen tfields Field properties-Determine how data is handled, stored and manipulated - Further define data types and formats like f_| Data type-Specify the kind of data a field can contain and how the field is u sed. Queries-These allows you to filter and extract specified data from tables in the databases Relationships: These are mainly used in relation to relational databases. R elationships allow relating tables witany, many to many relationships can b e created. Forms allow you to enter or view data stored in your tables Reports allow you to print data based on queries/tables that you have crea ted Advantages of using electronic database system A database can be used by many people at the same time. Data is frequently updated after each single entry. Data is automatically saved as soon as data is entered into ad atabase. Data can be retrieved in different formatse.g query, forms, reports, e.t.c Disadvantages of using electronic database They are very expensive to maintain and require initial cost They are very complicated and complex to us. “]They need technical requirements and knowledge. Require extra cost of hardware and software They consist of data failure. Consumes a lot of space on the hard drives Requires a lot of system currency and updating Areas where a database canbe used/applied Report card generation: a database can be used by schools to generate report cards and necessary academic summaries. POS (Point of Sale): in a supermarket, a database is used to de sign and automate a point of sale interface to manage mrd Superma rket in Kampala. Banks: a big database is used to manage details about a custo mer's transaction with the bank. Electoral commission: it manages a database archive for all eli gible voters in a given country. Data warehouses: information bureau use a database to mana ge and distribute information to users for example informa Stores: a database keeps consistent and reliable data. Very big stores used databases to store, manage and Data validation checksa) Presence check is to make sure that data is actually present. b) Length check is to make sure that the number of characters en tered is within the limit. c) Range check is to make sure that the data entered lies within a certain range. d) ‘Type check (also known as character check or alphanumeric c heck) is to make sure that the data entered is of t. e) Acheck digit is an extra digit appended to a code consisting of a series of numbers or characters to detect erro