Scribd
Upload
13 views7 pages

CHAPTER 1 LESSON 1 Introduction To Databases

This document introduces databases, explaining their purpose as collections of data stored in computer systems, and highlights the differences between using Microsoft Access and Excel for data management. It emphasizes the advantages of relational databases in recognizing relationships between data entries, allowing for more efficient data handling and analysis. The tutorial aims to equip users with the skills to navigate and utilize an existing Access database effectively.

Uploaded by

jimenezemyel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
13 views7 pages

CHAPTER 1 LESSON 1 Introduction To Databases

This document introduces databases, explaining their purpose as collections of data stored in computer systems, and highlights the differences between using Microsoft Access and Excel for data management. It emphasizes the advantages of relational databases in recognizing relationships between data entries, allowing for more efficient data handling and analysis. The tutorial aims to equip users with the skills to navigate and utilize an existing Access database effectively.

Uploaded by

jimenezemyel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 7

CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Databases

LESSON 1 Introduction
MSAC1L1

Introduction to Databases

MSAC1L2

Introduction to Objects MSAC1L3

Getting Started in Access. MSAC1L4

Managing Databases and Objects.

In this lesson, you will learn about databases and how they are used. You will
familiarize yourself with the differences between data management
in Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. Finally, you will get a look ahead at
the rest of the Access tutorial.

Watch the video below to learn more about databases in Access.

What is a database?
A database is a collection of data that is stored in a computer system.
Databases allow their users to enter, access, and analyze their data quickly
and easily. They're such a useful tool that you see them all the time. Ever
waited while a doctor's receptionist entered your personal information into a
computer, or watched a store employee use a computer to see whether an
item was in stock? If so, then you’ve seen a database in action.

The easiest way to understand a database is to think of it as a collection of


lists. Think about one of the databases we mentioned above: the database of
patient information at a doctor's office. What lists are contained in a
database like this? To start with, there's a list of patients' names. Then
there's a list of past appointments, a list with medical history for each
patient, a list of contact information, and so on.

This is true of all databases, from the simplest to the most complex. If you
like to bake, for example, you might decide to keep a database containing the
types of cookies you know how to make and the friends you give these
cookies to. This is one of the simplest databases imaginable. It contains two
lists: a list of your friends, and a list of cookies.

However, if you were a professional baker, you would have many more lists
to keep track of: a list of customers, products sold, prices, orders, and so on.
The more lists you add, the more complex the database will be.
In Access, lists are a little more complex than the ones you write on paper.
Access stores its lists of data in tables, which allow you to store even more
detailed information. In the table below, the People list in the amateur
baker’s database has been expanded to include other relevant information
on the baker’s friends.

If you are familiar with other programs in the Microsoft Office suite, this might
remind you of Excel, which allows you to organize data in a similar way. In
fact, you could build a similar table in Excel.

Why use a database?


If a database is essentially a collection of lists stored in tables and you can
build tables in Excel, why do you need a real database in the first place? While
Excel is great at storing and organizing numbers, Access is far stronger at
handling non-numerical data, like names and descriptions. Non-numerical
data plays a significant role in almost any database, and it's important to be
able to sort and analyze it.

What really sets databases apart from any other way of storing data
is connectivity. We call a database like the ones you’ll work with in Access
a relational database. A relational database is able to understand how lists
and the objects within them relate to one another. To explore this idea, let's
go back to the simple database with two lists: names of your friends, and the
types of cookies you know how to make. You decide to create a third list to
keep track of the batches of cookies you make and who they’re for. Because
you're only making cookies you know the recipe for and you're only going to
give them to your friends, this new list will get all of its information from the
lists you made earlier.
See how the third list uses words that appeared in the first two lists? A
database is capable of understanding that the Dad and Oatmeal cookies in
the Batches list are the same things as the Dad and Oatmeal cookies in the
first two lists. This relationship seems obvious, and a person would
understand it right away; however, an Excel workbook wouldn’t.

Excel would treat all of these things as distinct and unrelated pieces of
information. In Excel, you'd have to enter every single piece of information
about a person or type of cookie each time you mentioned it because that
database wouldn't be relational like an Access database. Simply put,
relational databases can recognize what a human can: If the same words
appear in multiple lists, they refer to the same thing.
The fact that relational databases can handle information this way allows
you to enter, search for, and analyze data in more than one table at a time.
All of these things would be difficult to accomplish in Excel, but in Access
even complicated tasks can be simplified and made fairly user friendly.

About the Access tutorial


What to expect from this tutorial
This tutorial will not teach you how to build a database from scratch. It is
designed for people who plan to use a pre-existing database, most likely in
the workplace.

The tutorial begins with a basic introduction to Access. You will become
familiar with the structure of an Access database and learn how to navigate
its various windows and the objects contained in it. As the tutorial goes on,
you will learn how to enter information in several ways. You will also learn
how to sort, retrieve, and analyze this information by running queries. After
you understand how to use your database, you’ll be introduced to tools that
let you modify its structure and appearance.

By the time you've finished reading this tutorial, you will be able to use a
database with confidence. You should also be able to alter it to best suit your
needs.

Is this tutorial right for you?


If you’ve read the description and believe this tutorial fits your needs, then go
ahead and jump in. As mentioned above, it's primarily designed to teach
people how to use an existing database. But no matter your eventual goal, it
can provide you with a solid foundation.
If you’re planning to create a system to keep track of personal information,
strongly consider whether you need the full functionality of Access in your
database. While Access is an extremely useful tool, setting up a new database
can be difficult and time consuming. If you don't necessarily need the full
connectivity of a relational database, consider managing your information
with Excel instead. If you decide to create your own database, review our
lesson on Designing Your Own Database for resources on
database creation.

You might also like