What is Data ?
A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn;
"statistical data"
Data are pieces of information that represent the
qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of
variables.
What is Information ?
A collection of related data.
Knowledge about a topic.
Data that have been processed into a format
that is understandable by its intended
audience.
What is a data file
A data file is a computer file which stores data
for use by a computer application or system.
It generally does not refer to files that contain
instructions or code to be executed (program
files),
Or files which define the operation or structure
of an application or system (which include
configuration files, directory files, etc.)
What is a master file ?
File Organizations
Sequential File
Indexed files
Indexed Sequential File
Relative File
File Organization
Sequential Files
Consists of records arranged in the sequence
in which they are written to the file (the first
record written is the first record in the file,
the second record written is the second
record in the file, and so on). As a result,
records can be added only at the end of the
file.
File Organization
Sequential Files
Sequential files are usually read sequentially,
starting with the first record in the file.
File Organization
Sequential Files
Sequential files with a fixed-length record
type that are stored on disk can also be
accessed by relative record number (direct
access).
File Organization
Sequential Files
Example
Student file
Employee file
In sequential files organization is sequential
Payroll file…………………….. ?
File Organizations
Indexed files
An index consists of keys and addresses
(physical disc locations).
An indexed file is a computer file with an index
that allows easy access to any record given its
file key.
Example student ………> studentId
searching mechanism …………… indexed or
sequential
File Organizations
Indexed Sequential files
An indexed sequential file is a sequential
file (i.e. sorted into order of a key field) which
has an index.
Indexed sequential files
Can be accessed.....
sequentially
randomly using the index.
Example:
A company may store details about its
employees as an indexed sequential file.
Sometimes the file is accessed....
Sequentially ?
Randomly ?
File Organizations
Relative File
A relative record file contains records
ordered by their relative key
Relative Key :
The record number that represents the
record location relative to where the file
begins.
Example
The first record in the file has a relative
record number of 1, the tenth record has a
relative record number of 10, and so forth.
The records can have fixed length or variable
length.
Key Fields
Each record of a file has a key field which
uniquely identifies that record.
Data model
A data model describes how data is
represented and accessed.
Data models formally define data elements
and relationships among data elements for a
domain of interest.
Types of data models
Flat model
Hierarchical model
Network model
Relational model
Flat model
This may not strictly qualify as a data model.
The flat (or table) model consists of a single,
two-dimensional array of data elements,
where all members of a given column are
assumed to be similar values, and all
members of a row are assumed to be related
to one another.
Flat model
Hierarchical model:
In this model data is organized into a tree-
like structure, implying a single upward link
in each record to describe the nesting, and a
sort field to keep the records in a particular
order in each same-level list.
Hierarchical data model:
Network model:
This model organizes data using two
fundamental constructs, called records and
sets.
Records contain fields, and
sets define one-to-many relationships
between records: one owner, many members.
Network model:
Entity-relationship model
An entity-relationship model it is an
conceptual representation of structured data.
It produces a conceptual data model of a
system.
It depicts data in terms of the entities and
relationships described in the data.
Relational model
Geographic data model
A data model in Geographic information
systems is a mathematical construct for
representing geographic objects or surfaces as
data.
For example, the vector data model represents
geography as collections of points, lines, and
polygons; the raster data model represent
geography as cell matrixes that store numeric
values; and the Triangulated irregular network
(TIN) data model represents geography as sets
of contiguous, nonoverlapping triangles.
Semantic data model
A technique to define the meaning of data
within the context of its interrelationships
with other data.
A semantic data model is an abstraction
which defines how the stored symbols relate
to the real world.
A semantic data model is sometimes called a
conceptual data model.
Semantic data model
