Concept of the Data Bases
1.1 DEFINITION
Data : Data can be defined as collection of meaningful facts. It can be defined as
a representation of facts, concepts or instruction in a formalized manner suitable
for communication, interpretation or processing by human or electronic machine.
Data is represented with the help of characters like. Alphabets (A-Z, a-z), digits
(0-9) or special characters (+,-,/,*,<,>,= etc.)
Data Item (Field) : A set of character which are used together to represent a
specific data element e.g. name of student in a class in represented by the data
item : NAME.
Record : Record is a collection of related data items, e.g. a payroll record for an
employee contains such data fields as name, age, qualification, sex, Basic pay,
DA, HRA, PF etc.
File (Data file) : File is collection of related records e.g. a payroll file might
consist of the employee pay records for a company.
Example : Consider the STUDENT File.
STUDENT : File Data item
Roll_No Name Fname Add Marks
101A Amit Chander P A 80 Record
102A Sumit SK Gupta B 75
103A Kusum RK Singh C 65
104A Tanvi S Mann X 82
105A Rakesh Prem Singh Y 54
Information : Meaningful Data or Information is organized or classified data so
that it has some meaningful values to the receiver.
OR
Information is the processed data on which decisions and action are based. For
the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the following
characteristics :
· Timely : It should be available when it is need, not before or nor later
· Accurate : it is to be of value, should be accurate and truly reflect the
situation.
· Complete : If the information is complete in all respect then its high value,
it tells its user all what he wishes
· Given to the right persons
· Relevance : It should be current utility and it is used in decision making or
problem solving. If it is relevant then its value is high
· Form: Information must be provide in different form then it is useful and
best undersigned by him. Information for top management required in
summarized form for key matters but operational managers required data
in detailed form.
· Purpose : Information must have a purpose at the time it is transmitted to
a person or electronic machine otherwise it is simply data.
· Validity : It measures the closeness of the information to purpose.
Data processing : Data processing is the restructuring or reordering of data by
people or machine to increase their usefulness & value for some particular
purpose.
OR
Data processing means manipulating the raw data to make it more useful.
Data manipulation consists of such operation as classification, sorting,
calculations & summarization.
Data Information Knowledge Action
Processing
1.2 EXAMPLES OF DATA AND INFORMATION
1. The daily production figures are raw data for the managing director. If however,
they are arrange for the month and short falls computed against the plan. It
becomes information that would prompt him to apply some corrective action so
that production rate accelerated to match the plan.
2. Marks obtained in different subject in a particular examination of a student act
as data. By processing this data, result may be obtained. The result is the
information, teacher uses to declare a student pass or fail.
Hence, it is clear from the above examples that the data and information are not
same thing.
1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION
Important characteristics of useful and effective information are as follows :
(a) Accuracy : Information, if it is to be of value, should be accurate and
should be accurate and should truly reflect the situation or behavior of
an event as it really is.
(b) Form : Information is of value if it is provided to the use in the form it is
useful and best understood by him. For example, in a business
enterprise, top management may require information on key matters in a
summarized form and the operation mangers in detailed from.
(c) Relevance : It refers to current utility of information in decision making or
problem solving. Thus, information gains in value if it is relevant.
(d) Timeliness : It means that Information should be made available when it
is needed for a particular purpose and not before and in any case not
after.
(e) Completeness : Information is considered a complete if it tells its user all
what he wishes to know about a particular situation/problem. The more
that completeness of information, the higher is its value.
(f) Purpose : Information must have purpose at the time it is transmitted to
a person or machine, otherwise it is simply data.
(g) Reliability : The information should be reliable and external force relied
upon indicated.
(h) Validity : It measures the closeness of the information to the purpose.
1.4 THE NEED OF INFORMATION
1. Information is useful for making decisions
2. Information helps managers (or users) in lowering the level of
uncertainties where they have to make a choice among several available
alternatives.
3. The information helps the users in lacking problems relating to their
respective functional areas.
4. Information is used by top management to plan the objectives of the
organization and to access whether the objectives are being met in
practice.
1.5 TRADITIONAL FILE PROCESSING ENVIRONMENT
The earliest business computer systems were used to process business records
and produce information. They were generally faster and more accurate than
equivalent manual systems. These systems stored groups of records in
separate files, and so they were called file processing systems. In a typical file
processing system, each department has its own files, designed specifically for
those applications. The department itself working with the data processing staff,
sets policies or standards for the format and maintenance of files.
Programs are dependent on the files and vice-versa; that is, when the physical
format of the file is changed, the program has also to be changed. Although the
traditional, file-oriented approach to information processing is still widely used, it
does have some very important disadvantages.
1.6 DISADVANTAGES OF FILE PROCESSING SYSTEM
(i) Duplicate Data Since all the files are independent of each other. Some
fields are store in more than one files.
(ii) Inconsistency
In file processing system, data is not consistent. If a data item is to be
changed then all the files containing that data need to be updated.
Problem lies in the risk that all the files might not be updated causing
inconsistency.
(iii) Poor Data integrity A collection of data has integrity, if data is logically
consistent that is the duplicate data item agree with one another. In a life
processing system, poor data integrity often develops.
(iv) Data is isolated and separated
If it is needed to extract data from two different files it will be required to
determine which parts of each of the files are needed, then how the files
are related to one another.
(v) Application programs are dependent on file formats
In file processing system, the physical formats of the files are entered in
the application programs that process the files. Change in the file format
result in program updates and a change which is time consuming and
error prone.
(vi) Poor Data Security
Data is stored in different files causing the security problems.
(vii) Difficult to represent complex object
Some data objects may be of variable length which might produce
difficulty in representation in files.
1.7 THE INTEGRATED DATABASE ENVIRONMENT
In contrast to the file environment the integrated database environment has a
single large repository of data called the database which is used simultaneously
by many users. Instead of disconnected files with redundant data all data is
stored together, with a minimum of repetition. The database is not owned by a
single user, but is a shared source. It is managed by an individual (or group)
called the database administrator (DBA), who is responsible for designing,
creating and maintaining the database to satisfy the needs of users.
All access to the database is controlled by a sophisticated software package
called database management systems (DBMS). It has programs to set the
storage structures, load the data, accept data requests from programs and users,
load the data, accept data requests from program or users, format retrieved data
so that it appears in a form the program or user expects, hide data that a
particular user should not have access to, accept and perform updates, allow
concurrent use of the data without having users interface with each other and
perform backup and recovery procedures automatically.
1.8 OBJECTIVES OF A DATA-BASE SYSTEM OR ADVANTAGES OF DATA-BASE
Some of desirable objectives of data-base system should be as follows:
1. Minimal Redundancy
In file systems each application has its own private files. This can often
lead to considerable redundancy in stored data, with resultant waste in
storage space. For example, a personnel application and an education-
records application may each own a file containing department
information for employee. These two files can be integrated and the
redundancy eliminated, if the DBA is aware of the data requirements for
both applications.
2. Inconsistency can be avoided
This is really a corollary of the previous point. Suppose that a given fact
about the real world-say, the fact that employee. E3 works in department
D8-is represented by two distinct entries in the database, and that the
system is not aware of this duplication (in other words, the redundancy is
not controlled). Then there will be some occasions on which the two
entries will not agree (that is, when one and only has been updated). At
such times the database is said to be inconsistent. Obviously, a database
that is in an inconsistent state is capable of supplying incorrect or
conflicting information.
3. Sharing of data
It means not only that existing applications can share the data in the
database, but also that new applications can be developed to operate
against that same stored data. In other words, the data requirements of
new applications may be satisfied without having to create any new
stored files.
4. Standards can be enforced
With central control of the database, the DBA can ensure that all
applicable standards are followed in the representation of the data such
as format of data items, conventions on data names, documentation
standards etc. which will result in uniformity of the entire data base as
well as its usage.
5. Search Capability
The use of a data base may ask a wide variety of the questions about the
data. If a quick answer is needed at a terminal the search will have to be
fast the capability to search a data base quickly & with different search
criteria is highly dependent on the physical data organization. An
objective of data-base organization, then, may be to achieve fast flexible
search capability.
6. Integrity
By integrity we mean unification of several files into one file. When a data
base contains data employed by many different users it is important that
the data items & associations between data items not be destroyed.
Hardware failures & various types of accidents will occur occasionally.
The storage of data & its updating & insertion procedures must be such
that the system can recover from these circumstance without harm to the
data. This integration reduces redundancy an also eliminates
inconsistency.
7. Privacy & Security
Data in data base system must be kept secure & private. Data security
refers to protection of data against accidental or intentional disclosure to
unauthorized persons or unauthorized modifications.
Privacy refers to the rights of individual & organizations to determine for
themselves when how and to what extent information about them is to be
transmitted to others.
Security is a highly complex subject because there are so many different
aspects to it. The following seven requirements are essential for data-
base security.
(i) The data should be protected from fire, theft, or other forms of distruction.
(ii) The data should be reconstructable.
(iii) The data should be auditable.
(iv) The system should be tamperproof. Ingenious programmers should not
be able to by pass the controls.
(v) Users of the data base must be positively indentifying before they can use
it.
(vi) The system must be able to check that user’s actions are authorized.
(vii) User’s actions should be monitored so that if they do something wrong
the are likely to be found.
8. The interface with the past
Organizations which have been using data processing for some time
having a major investment in the existing programs procedures and data.
When an organization installs new data base software it is important that
it can work with the existing programs & procedure and that the existing
data can be converted. This need for compatibility can be a major
constraint in switching to a new data-base system.
9. The Interface with the future
Most important is the interface with the future. In the future the data & its
storage media will change in many ways. Change has been extremely
costly to data processing users. So, one of the most important objectives
of data base design is to plan the data base in such a way that changes
can be made to it without having to modify the application programs. To
obtain this essential protection two characteristics are necessary in the
data-base design & both are complex to achieve.
(i) Physical data independent
It means that the physical layout & organization of data may be changed
without changing either the over all logical structure or application
programs.
(ii) Logical Data independence
It means that the overall structure of data may be change without
changing the application programs.
10. Tunability
Adjusting a data base to improve its performance is referred to as tuning
the data base. The savings that have resulted from tuning have often
been great. Sometimes they have been so great as to make the
difference between workable & unworkable applications. The database
administrator or his groups is response for the tuning and operation of the
data-base effective. Tuning has two requirements. First, physical data
independence is necessary second, it is desirable to automatically
monitor the usage of the data base so that appropriate adjustments can
be made.
11. Data Migration
Some data are referenced very frequently and others only occasionally. It
is desirable to store the frequently reference data in such a manner that
they can be accessed quickly & conveniently. The rarely accessed data
can be stored on magnetic tape & frequently accessed data may be on
disk or drum.
The process of adjusting the storage of data to suit its popularity rating is
called data migration.
12. Simplicity
The means that are used to represent the overall logical view of data
should be conceived in a simple & neat fashion. In many systems,
pointers are used in the logical representation to show relationships
between data items.
A problem with logical pointers is that as more & more relationships are
added between items the overall collection of pointers becomes highly
complex & it is difficult to represent the overall logical view of the data
base with clearly.
13. Powerful User Languages
It is possible that in the future the most important reason to have data-
base systems will be that they permit end users to employ data without
application programs necessarily having to be written powerful
languages are coming into existence which permit untrained users to
query, search & update data in data base to manipulate the data & to
generate reports or documents which use it.
1.4 Conflicting requirements can be balanced
Knowing the overall requirements of the enterprise-as opposed to the
requirements of any individual user-the DBA can structure the data base
system to provide an overall service that is “best for the enterprise” fir
example a representation can be chosen for the data in storage that gives
fast access for the most important applications at the cost of proof
performance in some other applications.
1.9 DISADVANTAGES OF DATABASE SYSTEM
1. High Cost of DMBS
Because complete DBMS is very large and sophisticated piece of
software, it is expensive to purchase.
2. High Hardware Cost
Additional memory and processing power may be required to run the
DBMS, resulting in the need to upgrade the hardware.
3. Higher Conversion Cost
Which an organization converts to a database system, data has to be
removed from files and loaded into the database which may be difficult
and time consuming process.
4. Higher Programming Cost
Because a DBMS is a complex tool with many features, it requires
experienced programmers resulting in extra payment for their hire and
expertise.
5. Complex
Another major disadvantage is that database processing tends to
complex, large amounts of data in many different formats can be
interrelated in the data base. Both the data base system & the application
programs must be able to process this structure.
6. Backup & Recovery are more difficult
This is because of increased complexity & because databases are often
processed by several users concurrently.
Determining the exact state of the database at the time of failure may be
a problem. Given that, it may be even more difficult to determine what
should be done next.
Even the failure of just one application program may pose serious
problems.
7. Integration
A final disadvantage is that integration and hence centralization, increase
Vulnerability. A failure in one component of an integrated system can stop
the entire system. This event is especially critical if, as is often the case,
the operation of the user organization depends on the database.
1.10 DATA AGGREGATE
It is collection of data items within a record, which is given a name and referred
to as a whole. Data and Name are data aggregates because these again are
divided into sub groups such as Date is divided into three data items i.e. Month,
day and year, similarly Name is also divided into 3 data items i.e. initial Name,
Middle Name and Last Name.
1.11 DEFINITION OF DATABASE
Data Base is composed of a collection of files that are linked in such a way that
information from one of the files may be combined with information from other
files so that a user may receive that exact information needed.
OR
A database may be defined as a collection of interrelated data stored together
without harmful or unnecessary redundancy to serve multiple applications; the
data are stored so that they are independent of programs which use the data, a
common & controlled approach is used in adding new data, in modifying &
retrieving existing data within the data base.
Hence Database may be defined as set of related data or collection of similar
type of data
Example of databases: Telephone diary, Students Records, Employee Records,
List of customer in a bank, List of Books in Library and Motor vehicles registration
etc. are the examples of database.
DEFINITION OF Database Management System (DBMS)
A database management system (DBMS) is a collection of programs that
enables you to store modify and extract information form a database.
or it may be defined as a process/system/software/package to manage the
database i.e. Foxpro, Sybase, Foxplus and dBase etc.
The following are the examples of database application
Computerized library systems
Automated teller machines
Flight reservation systems
Computerized parts inventory systems.
Definition of Relational Database: Whole data of the institution can not store in a
single file, for this purpose we store the more files. These two or more files are
logically interrelated such type of files called relational database.
DEFINITION OF Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
A process/system/software/package to manage the relational database is called
RDBMS i.e. MS Access, Orcle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Visual Foxpro
etc.
The differentiate between DBMS and RDBMS are given below
DBMS RDBMS
Not relationship between another table
Relationship between other tables
Store & retrieve small amount of data
Store and retrieve large amount of data
fast and easily
One user can access the same Many user simultaneously access the
database at the same time. same database
Less secure More secure than DBMS
1.12 COMPONENTS OF DATA BASE
A database system involves four major components : data, hardware, software
and users. We consider each of these
1. Data
The data stored in the system is partitioned into one or more database. A
database is both integrated and shared.
By “integrated” we mean that the database may be though as a unification of
several otherwise distinct data files, with any redundancy among those files
partially or wholly eliminated.
By ‘shared’ we mean that individual pieces of data in the database may be
shared among several different users, in the sense that each of those users may
have access to the same piece of data (and may use it for different purposes).
Such sharing is really a consequence of the fact that the database is integrated.
2. Hardware
The hardware consists of the secondary storage volumes – disks, drums, etc. –
on which the database resides, together with the associated devices, control
units, channels, and so forth.
3. Software
Between the hardware and the users there is a layer of software, usually called
the database management system or DBMS. All requests from users for access
to the database are handled by the DMBS.
4. Data base Users
There are three classes of user
(a) Application programmer
The application programmer, responsible for writing application programs that
use the database, typically in a language such as COBOL or PL/1 to meet the
user requirement. These application programs operate on the data in all the
usual ways : retrieving information, creating new information, deleting changing
existing information. Functions are performed by issuing the appropriate request
to the DBMS.
(b) End-Users
The second class of user, is the end-uses, accessing the database from a
terminal. There are two types of End-users.
(i) Casual Users
Casual users are trained in the use of the on-line query language and access
data by entering queries at terminals.
(ii) Naïve Users
Naïve users access data through application programs that have been written for
them. They do not need to know any details of the structure or language of the
data base system.
(c) DBA (Data base Administrator)
DBA is a person or group of persons responsible for over all control of database.
This administrator needs both technical and managerial skills. Key-functions of a
data base administrator are :
1. Interaction with users and all levels of management.
2. Supervision of all data base maintenance.
3. Design and coordination of data security measure to restrict unauthorized
access.
4. Design of data files and supervision of a data base dictionary and/or user’s
manual which gives standardised procedures for access to the data base.
5. Responsibility and control over all data base documentation.
6. Overseeing all data base activities to ensure prompt system response,
satisfactory user support, and data security.
1.12 DATA BASE ADMINISTRATOR (DBA)
Data Base Administrator or DBA is a person or group of persons responsible for
over all control database system. Infact all the activities in a data base system
are controlled by DBA. Some of the main activities are as follows :
(i) Deciding the information contents of database system
It is the DBA who decides information contents of database system. DBA decides
fields, type of fields and range of values that can be stored in fields. In
otherwords, DBA decides schema of database (schema is the structure of
database files)
(ii) Deciding hardware device to be used
It is a database administrator’s job to decide which hardware device will be most
suitable for current data base applications. Trade off between cost and efficiency
is performed by DBA to decide the storage device.
(iii) Deciding the users & data to be used by users
It is the DBA who decides users of the database system. DBA also decides
which information contents are to be used by any particular user. This is
performed by writing subschema.
(iv) Deciding the back-up and Recovery method
To avoid accidental loss of data back-up of the data is maintained on regular
intervals. It is the DBA who decides which data is to be backed up and when i.e.
amount of data and frequency of data is decided by DBA. If data is losed then it
is the DBA how to recover data from the existing back-up.
(v) Deciding the validation checks on the data
It is the DBA who decides which checks are to be maintained existing data in
database system Standards to be maintained are also decided by DBA.
(vi) Monitoring performance and responding to changing requirements
The DBA is responsible for so organizing the system as to get the performance
That is “best for the enterprise”, and for making the appropriate adjustments as
requirements change.
(vii) Design of data base dictionary and user’s manual
It is the responsibility of DBA to design the data base dictionary and /or user’s
manual which gives standardized procedures for access to the data base.
(viii) Schema and Physical Organization Modification
Either the modification of the data base schema or the description of the physical
storage organization are accomplished by writing a set of definition with the
permission of DBA.
1.13 DBMS AND ITS FUNCTIONS
DBMS is the software that interprets and processes users’ requests to retrieve
information from a database. The figure 5 shows that a DBMS serves as an
interface between the users and the database.
User may be keyed directly from a terminal, or coded as high-level language
programs to be submitted for interactive or batch processing. The DBMS
responds to a query by invoking the
Components of a DBMS
Data Catalog
Management Application
Transaction
Management
Concurrency Control
Recovery
Management
Security Management
Language Interface
Database Data Access
Storage Management
Appropriate subprograms, each of which performs its specific function to interpret
the query, or to locate the desired data in the data base and present it in the
desired order.
