Introduction to Database
Systems
1
Database
A shared collection of logically related data, and
a description of this data, designed to meet the
information needs of an organization.
Note the uses of the phrases:-
• Shared collection
• Logically related
• Description of data
2
Database System
It is a system which has the following
components
Database,
Database Management System,
• DBMS is a software that enables users to define,
create, maintain, and control access to the
database
Hardware.
People having roles to play in the database
environment, and
Some application programs
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Database System: Overview
Assuming AAUSC uses a Database
System to handle student records how do
Instructors enter grades?
Students register for courses?
Students get information on their academic
performance?
Queries are processed?
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Database and Database Systems have become an
essential component of everyday life in modern society
It is fair to say that databases play a critical role in
almost all areas where computers are used
Some examples
Depositing or withdrawing money from a bank
Making airline reservation
Accessing a computerized library catalog to search for books
Purchasing an item from a supermarket
Booking a holiday at the travel agent
Purchasing using your credit card
Using the Internet
All these may involve accessing databases
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Database Applications:
Banking: all transactions
Airlines: reservations, schedules
Universities: registration, grades
Sales: customers, products, purchases
Manufacturing: production, inventory,
orders, supply chain
Human resources: employee records,
salaries, tax deductions
Databases touch all aspects of our lives
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Data has no meaning and hence not helpful,
information is useful to make decisions and
control and coordinate activities
Data is input to Information System and
information is output from the system.
Example:
The numbers 18, 20, 23, 20, 25, 25, 28 can be
considered as data. But if you are told that these
are the highest temperature recordings during the
first week of the month of June, 2007, at Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia; it becomes information.
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File - Based Systems
File based systems were an early attempt to computerize
manual systems.
This approach is a decentralized computerized data
handling method - it develops a program or a number of
programs for each different application.
Since every application defines and manages its own
data, the system is subjected to serious data duplication
problem
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Example: Three file processing systems at Company A
Duplicate
Data
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Limitations of File-Based systems
Data Redundancy (Duplication of data)
Same data is held by different programs
Wasted space (Uncontrolled duplication of data)
Separation and isolation of data
Each program maintains its own set of data. Users
of one program may be unaware of potentially
useful data held by other programs.
Limited data sharing
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Limitations of File-Based systems (Cont.)
• Data Inconsistency and confusion
There are potentially different values and/or different
formats for the same item
• Program - Data dependence
File structure is defined in the program code and is
dependent on the application programming
language.
Each application program must have its own
processing routines for reading, inserting, updating
and deleting data
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Limitations of File Based Systems (Cont.)
Incompatible file formats (Lack of Data
Sharing and Availability)
Programs are written in different languages, and
so cannot easily access each others files.
E.g. personnel writes in C++
finance writes in COBOL
Poor Security and administration
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Limitations of File-Based systems (Cont.)
Update Anomalies
Modification Anomalies: A problem experienced when
one or more data value is modified on one application
program but not on others containing the same data set.
Deletion Anomalies: A problem encountered where one
record set is deleted from one application but remain
untouched in other application programs
Insertion Anomalies: A problem experienced whenever
there is a new data item to be recorded, and the
recording is not made in all the applications
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File based approaches
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