Csci 455
Chapter 1 Databases and Database Users
Objectives
Introduction Example of database system Database characteristics People associated with database Advantage of Using a DBMS Database implications When Not to use a DBMS
Introduction
Databases:
Used to maintain information and to present data to users
Examples includes:
Reservations systems (Hotel, Car, Airline) Transactions processing systems (Bank , local library) Investigations systems(Scientific, Criminal) Multimedia database sytems 3 Geographic information systems (GIS)
Core DataBase terminologies: 1
Data?
Any information (most likely in electronic form) worth preserving
E.g., names, addresses, grades, etc.
Database?
A collection of related data describing the activities of one or more organizations Organized (or structured) for access and modification Preserved over a long period
E.g. University Database
Core Terminologies:2
Database management system (DBMS)? A collection of programs that enables users
To define (specifying data type, etc) To construct (storing) To manipulate (reading, writing) To share
E.g., RDBMS
Protecting maintaing
Database system= DBMS + Database
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Core Terminologies: 3
Query? an operation that extracts specified data from the database
E.g.
get the list of all courses and grades taken by Smith
Relation? an organization of data into a two-dimensional table,
rows (tuples) represent basic entities or facts of some sort columns (attributes or fields) represent properties of those entities.
Schema? a description of the structure of the data in a database
also known as metadata
Database Properties
A database must
Represent some aspects of real world Collection of data must be logically coherent and meaningful Database is designed, build, and populated with data to specific purpose
See figure 1.2
Example: A University Database
Database Engineering
Design of DB application starts
Requirements definition and analysis Conceptual Design (ER ) Logical Design (Orcale / Mysquel, etc) Physical Design (storing/accessing/indexing)
Main Characteristics of DB
Self-Describing nature of a database system ( catalog =Data + metadata) Insulation between programs and data ( program-data-independence) Support of multiple views of the data (virtual data) Sharing of data and multi-user transaction processing (concurrency control)
Transaction and atomicity
ACID
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People involved in Database
people on the Scene people behind the Scene
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People on the Scene
Database administrators (DBA)
Authorization, coordination, supervision of DB
Database designers
Defining, building, maintaining, etc
End Users
Casual, navie, sophisticated
Software Eng.
(system analysts and application programmers)
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Workers behind the Scene
DBMS system designers and implementers Tool developers Operators and maintenance personnel
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File System vs. Database Mgt Systems
Suppose an organization needs to manage a large collection, say, 500 GB (i.e., 500X1024 MB) Data is supposed to be accessed concurrently by employees Changes made to the data must be applied consistently Access to the data must be restricted
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File systems vs. A DBMS (cont)
Using file systems, the data is stored in OS files Not enough MM Difficulty to directly access data (with 32bit , we can access 4GB) Need to write special program to answer each question Concurrent accesses Security policies And more
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Primary Advantages of Using a DBMS
Controlling Redundancy
Duplicate space and efforts inconsistency
Restricting Unauthorized Access
Security and authorization subsystem
Providing persistent storage for program objects and data structure Deriving new information from existing ones
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Primary Advantages of Using a DBMS (Cont)
Controlling Redundancy Data normalization vs. de-normalization Providing Multiple User Interfaces Representing Complex Relationships among Data Enforcing Integrity Constraints Providing Backup and crash Recovery Scheduling concurrent accesses to the data Reducing application development time
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Implication of the Database Approach
Standards can be enforced (data and display format) Application development time can be reduced Flexibility and maintainability Availability of up-to date information Economics of Scale
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When Not to Use A DBMS
When there is unnecessary overhead resulted from:
High initial up-front cost Generality that a DBMS provides for defining and processing data Overhead for providing
security concurrency recovery integrity
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When to Use File System
A File system is desirable under the following conditions:
The database and application are simple, well-defined, and unchangeable Single-user access to the data is required performance
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