Database Management System

Module 1- Chapter 1

Introduction to Databases
Sandipan Maiti
CSE Department
sandipan.maiti@vitap.ac.in; 9440412576
 Databases
• traditional database applications, in which most of the information that is
stored and accessed is either textual or numeric.
• In the past few years, advances in technology have led to exciting new
applications of database systems.
• The proliferation of social media Web sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Flickr, among many others, has required the creation of huge databases that
store nontraditional data, such as posts, tweets, images, and video clips.
• New types of database systems, often referred to as big data storage systems,
or NOSQL systems, have been created to manage data for social media
applications.
• These types of systems are also used by companies such as Google, Amazon,
and Yahoo, to manage the data required in their Web search engines, as well
as to provide cloud storage, on the Web for managing all types of data
including documents, programs, images, videos and emails.
 Databases
• The wide availability of photo and video technology on cellphones and other
devices has made it possible to store images, audio clips, and video streams
digitally. These types of files are becoming an important component of
multimedia databases.
• Geographic information systems (GISs) can store and analyze maps, weather
data, and satellite images.
• Data warehouses and online analytical processing (OLAP) systems are used in
many companies to extract and analyze useful business information from very
large databases to support decision making.
• Real-time and active database technology is used to control industrial and
manufacturing processes. And database search techniques are being applied
to the World Wide Web to improve the search for information that is needed
by users browsing the Internet.
 Databases
• A database is a collection of related data By data, we mean known facts
that can be recorded and that have implicit meaning.
• A database has the following implicit properties:
■ A database represents some aspect of the real world, sometimes called
the miniworld or the universe of discourse (UoD). Changes to the
miniworld are reflected in the database.
■ A database is a logically coherent collection of data with some inherent
meaning. A random assortment of data cannot correctly be referred to as a
database.
■ A database is designed, built, and populated with data for a specific
purpose. It has an intended group of users and some preconceived
applications in which these users are interested.
 Databases
• Database has some source from which data is derived, some degree
of interaction with events in the real world, and an audience that is
actively interested in its contents.
• The end users of a database may perform business transactions
or events may happen that cause the information in the database to
change.
• In order for a database to be accurate and reliable at all times, it must be
a true reflection of the miniworld that it represents; therefore, changes
must be reflected in the database as soon as possible.
• A database can be of any size and complexity.
• A database may be generated and maintained manually or it may be
computerized.
 Databases
• A database management system (DBMS) is a computerized system that
enables users to create and maintain a database.
• The DBMS is a general-purpose software system that facilitates the
processes of defining, constructing, manipulating, and sharing databases
among various users and applications.
• Defining a database involves specifying the data types, structures, and
constraints of the data to be stored in the database.
• The database definition or descriptive information is also stored by the
DBMS in the form of a database catalog or dictionary; it is called meta-
data.
• Constructing the database is the process of storing the data on some
storage medium that is controlled by the DBMS.
 Databases
• Manipulating a database includes functions such as querying the
database to retrieve specific data, updating the database to reflect
changes in the miniworld, and generating reports from the data.
• Sharing a database allows multiple users and programs to access the
database simultaneously.
• An application program accesses the database by sending queries or
requests for data to the DBMS.
• Transaction may cause some data to be read and some data to be
written into the database.
• Protection includes system protection against hardware or software
malfunction (or crashes) and security protection against unauthorized or
malicious access.
 Databases
• DBMS must be able to maintain
the database system by allowing
the system to evolve as
requirements change over time.
• we will call the database and
DBMS software together a
database system.

• A simplified database system

environment.
 Databases
• A database that stores student and course information.
 Databases
• Database manipulation involves querying and updating. Examples of
queries are as follows:
Retrieve the transcript —a list of all courses and grades—of ‘Smith’
List the names of students who took the section of the ‘Database’ course
offered in fall 2008 and their grades in that section
List the prerequisites of the ‘Database’ course
• Examples of updates include the following:
Change the class of ‘Smith’ to sophomore
Create a new section for the ‘Database’ course for this semester
Enter a grade of ‘A’ for ‘Smith’ in the ‘Database’ section of last semester
 Databases
• Design of a new application for an existing database or design of a
brand new database starts off with a phase called requirements
specification and analysis.
• These requirements are documented in detail and transformed into a
conceptual design
• The design is then translated to a logical design that can be expressed in
a data model implemented in a commercial DBMS.
• The final stage is physical design, during which further specifications are
provided for storing and accessing the database.
 Characteristics of the Databases
• A number of characteristics distinguish the database approach from the
much older approach of writing customized programs to access data
stored in files.
• In traditional file processing, each user defines and implements the files
needed for a specific software application as part of programming the
application.
• The main characteristics of the database approach versus the file-
processing approach
Self-describing nature of a database system
Insulation between programs and data, and data abstraction
Support of multiple views of the data
Sharing of data and multiuser transaction processing
 Databases
• A fundamental characteristic of the database approach is that the
database system contains not only the database itself but also a complete
definition or description of the database structure and constraints.
• This definition is stored in the DBMS catalog, which contains information
such as the structure of each file, the type and storage format of each data
item, and various constraints on the data.
• The information stored in the catalog is called meta-data.
• Some new database systems, known as NOSQL systems, do not require
meta-data. Rather the data is stored as self-describing data that includes
the data item names and data values together in one structure.
• The DBMS software must work equally well with any number of database
applications.
 Databases
• An example of a database catalog.
 Databases
• In traditional file processing, the structure of data files is embedded in
the application programs, so any changes to the structure of a file may
require changing all programs that access that file.
• By contrast, DBMS access programs do not require such changes in most
cases.
• The structure of data files is stored in the DBMS catalog separately from
the access programs. We call this property program-data independence.
 Databases
• An operation (also called a function or method) is specified in two
parts.
• The interface (or signature) of an operation includes the operation name
and the data types of its arguments (or parameters).
• The implementation (or method) of the operation is specified separately
and can be changed without affecting the interface.
• User application programs can operate on the data by invoking these
operations through their names and arguments, regardless of how the
operations are implemented.
• This may be termed program-operation independence.
 Databases
• The characteristic that allows program-data independence and program-
operation independence is called data abstraction.
• A DBMS provides users with a conceptual representation of data that does not
include many of the details of how the data is stored or how the operations are
implemented.
• Informally, a data model is a type of data abstraction that is used to provide this
conceptual representation.
• Data model hides storage and implementation details that are not of interest to
most database users.
• A database typically has many types of users, each of whom may require a
different perspective or view of the database.
• A view may be a subset of the database or it may contain virtual data that is
derived from the database files but is not explicitly stored.
 Databases
• The DBMS must include concurrency control software to ensure that
several users trying to update the same data do so in a controlled manner
so that the result of the updates is correct.
• These types of applications are generally called online transaction
processing (OLTP) applications.
• The concept of a transaction is an executing program or process that
includes one or more database accesses, such as reading or updating of
database records.
• The isolation property ensures that each transaction appears to execute in
isolation from other transactions, even though hundreds of transactions
may be executing concurrently.
• The atomicity property ensures that either all the database operations in a
transaction are executed or none are.
 Databases
• The database administrator (DBA) is responsible for authorizing access
to the database, coordinating and monitoring its use, and acquiring
software and hardware resources as needed.
• Database designers are responsible for identifying the data to be stored
in the database and for choosing appropriate structures to represent and
store this data. These tasks are mostly undertaken before the database is
actually implemented and populated with data.
• Database designers typically interact with each potential group of users
and develop views of the database that meet the data and processing
requirements of these groups.
 Databases
• End users are the people whose jobs require access to the database for querying,
updating, and generating reports; the database primarily exists for their use.
• Casual end users occasionally access the database, but they may need different
information each time.
• Naive or parametric end users make up a sizable portion of database
end users. Their main job function revolves around constantly querying
and updating the database, using standard types of queries and updates.
• Sophisticated end users include engineers, scientists, business analysts, and
others who thoroughly familiarize themselves with the facilities of the DBMS
in order to implement their own applications to meet their complex requirements.
• Standalone users maintain personal databases by using ready-made program
packages that provide easy-to-use menu-based or graphics-based interfaces.
 Databases
• DBMS system designers and implementers design and implement the
DBMS modules and interfaces as a software package.
• Tool developers design and implement tools—the software packages that
facilitate database modeling and design, database system design, and
improved performance.
• Operators and maintenance personnel (system administration personnel)
are responsible for the actual running and maintenance of the hardware and
software environment for the database system.
Advantages of Using the DBMS Approach
• Controlling Redundancy
• Restricting Unauthorized Access
• Providing Persistent Storage for Program Objects
• Providing Storage Structures and Search Techniques for Efficient Query
Processing
• Providing Backup and Recovery
• Providing Multiple User Interfaces
• Representing Complex Relationships among Data
• Enforcing Integrity Constraints
• Permitting Inference and Actions Using Rules and Triggers
• Additional Implications of Using the Database Approach
 Databases
• Early Database Applications Using Hierarchical and Network Systems
• Providing Data Abstraction and Application Flexibility with Relational
Databases
• Object-Oriented Applications and the Need for More Complex Databases
• Interchanging Data on the Web for E-Commerce Using XML
• Extending Database Capabilities for New Applications
• Emergence of Big Data Storage Systems and NOSQL Databases
Thank you All
Any Questions?