Database Management Basics

Database management is a method of managing the information that supports a business’s operations. It includes data storage and distribution to application programs and users making changes as needed, monitoring changes in the data and preventing it from getting damaged by unexpected failure. It is part of the overall informational infrastructure of a company that assists in decision making in corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and California wsoek.com Consumer Privacy Act.

The first database systems were created in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS), which allowed massive amounts of data to be stored and retrieved for a variety of reasons. From calculating inventory, to supporting complex financial accounting functions as well as human resource functions.

A database consists of a set of tables that are organized in accordance with a specific scheme, such as one-to-many relationships. It utilizes primary keys to identify records and allows cross-references between tables. Each table has a collection of attributes, or fields, that provide information about data entities. The most well-known type of database currently is a relational model, created by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. This model is based upon normalizing the data, making it more easy to use. It is also simpler to update data because it does not require changing several databases.

Most DBMSs can support various types of databases, by providing different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level deals with costs, scalability and other operational issues, like the physical layout of the database. The external level determines how the database appears in user interfaces and other applications. It can include a mixture of external views based on different data models and may include virtual table that are computed using generic data to enhance the performance.