Module-1

Introduction to Database

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Outline
 Types of Databases and Database
Applications
 Basic Definitions
 Typical DBMS Functionality
 Example of a Database (UNIVERSITY)
 Main Characteristics of the Database

Approach
 Database Users
 Advantages of Using the Database

Approach
 When Not to Use Databases

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Types of Databases and
Database Applications
 Traditional Applications:
◦ Numeric and Textual Databases

 More Recent Applications:

◦ Multimedia Databases
◦ Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
◦ Data Warehouses
◦ Real-time and Active Databases
◦ Many other applications

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Basic Definitions
 Data:
◦ Known facts that can be recorded and have an implicit
meaning.
 Database:
◦ A collection of related data.
 Mini-world:
◦ Some part of the real world about which data is stored in
a database. For example, student grades and transcripts
at a university.
 Database Management System (DBMS):
◦ A software package/ system to facilitate the creation and
maintenance of a computerized database.
 Database System:
◦ The DBMS software together with the data itself.
Sometimes, the applications are also included.

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Cont...
 Database has the following implicit properties:
 ■ A database represents some aspect of the real
world, sometimes called the miniworld or the
universe of discourse (UoD). Changes to the
miniworld are reflected in the database.
 ■ A database is a logically coherent collection of
data with some inherent meaning. A random
assortment 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
preconceived applications in which these users are
interested.

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Cont...
 A database can be of any size and
complexity.
 Ex: List of name and addresses.
Library---half a million entries
 database of even greater size and
complexity is maintained by the
 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to monitor

tax forms filed by U.S. taxpayers.

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Cont..
 An example of a large commercial database is
Amazon.com.
 It contains data for over 20 million books CDs,
videos, DVDs, games, electronics, apparel, and
other items.
 The database occupies over 2 terabytes.
 About 15 million visitors access Amazon.com
each day and use the database to make
purchases.
 Thedatabase is continually updated as new books
and other items are added to the inventory and
stock quantities are updated as purchases are
transacted.

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Simplified database system environment

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Typical DBMS Functionality
 Define a particular database in terms of its data
types, structures, and constraints
 Construct or Load the initial database contents on
a secondary storage medium
 Manipulating the database:
◦ Retrieval: Querying, generating reports
◦ Modification: Insertions, deletions and updates to its
content
◦ Accessing the database through Web applications
 Processing and Sharing by a set of concurrent
users and application programs – yet, keeping all
data valid and consistent

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Cont...
 Other features:
◦ Protection or Security measures to prevent
unauthorized access
◦ “Active” processing to take internal actions on
data
◦ Presentation and Visualization of data
◦ Maintaining the database and associated
programs over the lifetime of the database
application

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Example of a Database
(with a Conceptual Data Model)

 Mini-world for the example:

◦ Part of a UNIVERSITY environment.
 Some mini-world entities:
◦ STUDENTs
◦ COURSEs
◦ SECTIONs (of COURSEs)
◦ (academic) DEPARTMENTs
◦ INSTRUCTORs

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Cont...
 Some mini-world relationships:
◦ SECTIONs are of specific COURSEs
◦ STUDENTs take SECTIONs
◦ COURSEs have prerequisite COURSEs
◦ INSTRUCTORs teach SECTIONs
◦ COURSEs are offered by DEPARTMENTs
◦ STUDENTs major in DEPARTMENTs

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Example of a simple
database

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Characteristics of the Database
Approach
 Self-describing nature of a database
system:
◦ A DBMS catalog stores the description of a
particular database (e.g. data structures and types)
◦ The description is called meta-data.
◦ This allows the DBMS software to work with different
database applications.

 Insulation between programs and data:

◦ Called program-data independence.
◦ Allows changing data structures and storage
organization without having to change the DBMS
access programs.
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Example of a simplified database catalog

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Characteristics of the Database Approach
(continued)
 Data Abstraction:
◦ A data model is used to hide storage details and
present the users with a conceptual view of the
database.
◦ Programs refer to the data model constructs
rather than data storage details

 Support of multiple views of the data:

◦ Each user may see a different view of the
database, which describes only the data of
interest to that user.

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Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
 Sharing of data and multi-user
transaction processing:

◦ Allowing a set of concurrent users to retrieve

from and to update the database
◦ Care is needed to avoid interferences
◦ Concurrency control within the DBMS guarantees
that each transaction is correctly executed or
aborted
◦ Recovery subsystem ensures each completed
transaction has its effect permanently recorded in
the database

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Database Users
 Users may be divided into

 Those who actually use and control the database

content, and those who design, develop and
maintain database applications (called “Actors on
the Scene”), and
 Those who design and develop the DBMS software
and related tools, and the computer systems
operators (called “Workers Behind the Scene”).

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Database Users
 Actors on the scene
◦ Database Designers:
 Responsible to define the content, the structure, the
constraints, and functions or transactions against the
database. They must communicate with the end-
users and understand their needs.

◦ Database administrators:
 Responsible for authorizing access to the database,
for coordinating and monitoring its use, acquiring
software and hardware resources, controlling its use
and monitoring efficiency of operations.

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Categories of End-users
 Actors on the scene (continued)
 End-users: They use the data for queries, reports
and some of them update the database content.
End-users can be categorized into:
 Casual: access database occasionally when needed
 Naïve or Parametric: they make up a large section of
the end-user population

 They use previously well-defined functions against the

database.
 Examples are bank-tellers or university secretaries who
do this activity for an entire shift of operations.

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Categories of End-users (continued)
 Sophisticated:
 These include business analysts, scientists, engineers,
others thoroughly familiar with the system capabilities.
 Many use tools in the form of software packages that
work closely with the stored database.
 Stand-alone:
 Mostly maintain personal databases using ready-to-use
packaged applications.
 An example is a scientists that creates a database for its
own experiments.
 Another example is a user that maintains an address
book

You may become sophisticated or stand-alone users

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Advantages of Using the
Database Approach
 Interacting easily with data using high-level
dedicated tools
 Controlling redundancy in data storage and

in development and maintenance efforts.

◦ Sharing of data among multiple users.
◦ Ensuring consistency of data.
 Restricting unauthorized access to data.
 Providing storage structures (e.g. indexes)

for efficient query processing

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Advantages of Using the
Database Approach (continued)
 Providing backup and recovery services.
 Providing multiple interfaces to different

classes of users.
 Representing complex relationships among

data.
 Enforcing integrity constraints on the

database.

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Additional Implications of Using
the Database Approach
 Potential for enforcing standards:
◦ This is very crucial for the success of database
applications in large organizations. Standards
refer to data item names, display formats,
screens, report structures, Web page layouts, etc.
 Reduced application development time:
◦ Applications can exploit the high-level database
primitives.
◦ Incremental time to add each new application is
reduced.

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Additional Implications of Using the
Database Approach (continued)
 Flexibility to change data structures:
◦ Database structure may evolve as new
requirements are defined.
 Availability of current information:
◦ Extremely important for on-line transaction
systems such as airline, hotel, car reservations.
 Economies of scale:
◦ Wasteful overlap of resources and personnel can
be avoided by consolidating data and applications
across departments.

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Historical Development of
Database Technology
 Early Database Applications:
◦ The Hierarchical and Network Models were
introduced in mid 1960s and dominated during the
seventies.
◦ A bulk of the worldwide database processing still
occurs using these models, particularly, the
hierarchical model.
 Relational Model based Systems:
◦ Relational model was originally introduced in 1970,
was heavily researched and experimented within
IBM Research and several universities.
◦ Relational DBMS Products emerged in the early
1980s.
◦ Most of the systems used today are based on it
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Historical Development of
Database Technology (continued)
 Object-oriented and emerging applications:
◦ Object-Oriented Database Management Systems
(OODBMSs) were introduced in late 1980s and early
1990s to cater to the need of complex data
processing in CAD and other applications.
 Their use has not taken off much.
◦ Many relational DBMSs have incorporated object
database concepts, leading to a new category called
object-relational DBMSs (ORDBMSs)
◦ Extended relational systems add further capabilities
(e.g. for multimedia data, XML, and other data
types)

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Historical Development of
Database Technology (continued)
 Data on the Web and E-commerc
Applications:
◦ Web contains data in HTML (Hypertext markup
language) with links among pages.

◦ This has given rise to a new set of applications and

E-commerce is using new standards like XML
(eXtended Markup Language).

◦ Script programming languages such as PHP and

JavaScript allow generation of dynamic Web pages
that are partially generated from a database.
 Also allow database updates through Web pages
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Extending Database
Capabilities
 New functionality is being added to DBMSs in the following
areas:
◦ Scientific Applications
◦ XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
◦ Image Storage and Management
◦ Audio and Video Data Management
◦ Data Warehousing and Data Mining
◦ Spatial Data Management
◦ Time Series and Historical Data Management

 The above gives rise to new research and development in

incorporating new data types, complex data structures,
new operations and storage and indexing schemes in
database systems.

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 When not to use a DBMS
 Main inhibitors (costs) of using a DBMS:
◦ High initial investment and possible need for additional
hardware.
◦ Overhead for providing generality, security, concurrency
control, recovery, and integrity functions.
 When a DBMS may be unnecessary:
◦ If the database and applications are simple, well defined, and
not expected to change.
◦ If there are stringent real-time requirements that may not be
met because of DBMS overhead.
◦ If access to data by multiple users is not required.

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 When not to use a DBMS
 When no DBMS may suffice:
◦ If the database system is not able to handle the
complexity of data because of modeling
limitations
◦ If the database users need special operations not
supported by the DBMS.

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