CHAPTER TWO

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

2.1. Computer Hardware ~

1. General Over View
2. Computer Hardware Systems
2.2. Computer Software
1. General Overview
2. Types of software
2.3. Database Management
1. Data Resource Management Importance
2. Why Databases over Separate Files
2.4. Telecommunication and Computer Networks
Telecommunication Networks
Telecommunication trends
Telecommunication Applications
Types of Computer Networks
 Data Resource Management
Data are a vital organizational resource that need to be managed
like other important business assets. Today’s business
enterprises cannot survive or succeed without quality data
about their internal operations and external environment. With
each online mouse click, either a fresh bit of data is created or
already-stored data are retrieved from all those business Web
sites. All that’s on top of the heavy demand for industrial-
strength data storage already in use by scores of big
corporations.
What’s driving the growth is a crushing imperative for
corporations to analyze every bit of information they can
extract from their huge data warehouses for competitive
advantage? That has turned the data storage and management
function into a key strategic role of the information age.
 Data Resource Management

DRM= A managerial activity that applies

information systems technology and
management tools to the task of managing
an organization’s data resources.
Its three major components are
• database administration,
• data administration, and
• data planning.
 DRM- Approach
• There are two DRM approach
1. Files
2. Data base
 File Classification
Thus, an employee file would contain the records of the employees of a
firm. Files are frequently classified by the application for which they
are primarily used, such as a payroll file or an inventory file, or the
type of data they contain, such as a document file or a graphical
image file . Files are also classified by their permanence, for example,
a payroll master file versus a payroll weekly transaction file .

A transaction file, therefore, would contain records of all transactions

occurring during a period and might be used periodically to update
the permanent records contained in a master file. A history file is an
obsolete transaction or master file retained for backup purposes or
for long-term historical storage, called archival storage .
 Traditional File Processing
How would you feel if you were an executive of a company
and were told that some information you wanted about
your employees was too difficult and too costly to obtain?
Suppose the vice president of information services gave
you the following reasons:
• The information you want is in several different files, each
organized in a different way. Each file has been organized
to be used by a different application program, none of
which produces the information you want in the form you
need. No application program is available to help you to
get the information you want from these files.
 Characteristics of File approach
• Redundant Data Storage.
• One file is used in each application.
• No data sharing.
• Cross-application transfers are difficult to manage and
achieve.
• File Systems are rarely used for data processing anymore.
• Sections/units collects and organize data
• Duplication of data
• Poor security of data handling
 Traditional File
General
Personnel
Ledger

File File

Production
Payroll
Planning

File File

Invoicing Inventory

File File

Order
Despatch
Entry

File File
 Database Approach
• A database is more than just a collection of
information - such as student and course
information, faculty and grades.
• A database is a representation of the people
and things your business needs to operate,
and the way those people and things relate to
each other.
• A database system supports the business rules
defined by the customer.
 Characteristics of DB
• Compactness. Data is stored in a single logical
DB “place.”
• Data can be shared and related between
applications
• Data transfer between applications is easier
• Used for a wide range of applications.
• Data integration and creating pools are easy
• Flexibility of reporting (browsing and searching)
 Characteristics of DB
• It Avoid redundancy
• Amount
– Database size depends on the number of records or files it
contains.
• Complexity
– Database complexity depends on the number of relations
between the files.
• Volatility
– A measure of the changes typically required in a given period of
time.
• Immediacy
– A measure of how rapidly changes must be made to data.
 DB GRAPHICS
General
Personnel
Ledger

Production
Payroll
Planning

Invoicing Inventory

Order
Despatch
Entry
 Advantages of using DB
• Flexible Data Access. DBMSs have various tools to
manipulate, query, or report data, such as Structured Query
Language (SQL), and Report Generators. Hence:
– Selected data is easily retrieved
– A DBMS can accommodate different data views for different
users
• Improved Data Integrity. Modern DBMSs consist of various
tools and methods to:
– ensure that data is correct, consistent, and current
– verify data input and check whether data is ‘reasonable’.
 Advantages of using DB
• Improved Data Security. Tools such as password access, and
encryption, ensure that data is not:
– deliberately or accidentally damaged or changed
– accessed without proper authorisation
• Data Independence.
– Problems arising from the interdependence of data and programs
are kept to a minimum.
• Reduced Data Redundancy.
– Single version of the truth.
– Efficient data storage.
– Efficient time management of Hardware (CPU), programmer(s),
analyst(s) and user(s).
– Relational DBs use Normalisation to reduce data redundancy.
 Advantages of using DB
• Ability to Share and Relate Data.
– Different user groups can use the same data.
– Data in different (physical or logical) parts of the system can be
related for a certain application.
• Standardisation of Data.
– In general data items have common names and storage format.
• Increased Productivity.
– The various tools reduce the complexity that is otherwise
associated with DB maintenance when changes are required to
the system. For example Law changes, Economy Changes, User
Changes.
 Costs of DB Approach
The implementation and use of DBMSs is normally associated
with various costs. Such as:
– Initial expenses involve planning costs, and consultancy
fees.
– Computer hardware costs.
– Software costs.
– Database Administrator costs, and staff training costs.
– Conversion costs of an existing system.
– Various operational costs.
 Database Management System
(DBMS)
A database management system (DBMS) is a computer software
application that interacts with the user, other applications, and
the database itself to capture and analyze data.
Database Management Systems (DBMSs) are Computer systems that manage
data in databases.
A general-purpose DBMS is designed to allow the
•definition,
•creation,
•querying,
•update, and
•administration of databases.
•Capturing
•Retrieval
• Storage of data.
Database Management System (DBMS)
• It is an Information Systems process and assist
users to manage data.
• Today’s DBMSs are based on sophisticated
software and powerful computer hardware.
• Well known DBMS software includes ORACLE,
Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase and MySQL(free
download) among others.
Database Management System (DBMS)

• Just imagine how difficult it would be to get

any information from an information system if
data were stored in an unorganized way or if
there were no systematic way to retrieve
them.
 CONTD…
Therefore, in all information systems, data
resources must be organized and structured in
some logical manner so that they can be
accessed easily, processed efficiently,
retrieved quickly, and managed effectively.
Data structures and access methods ranging
from simple to complex have been devised to
organize and access data stored by
information systems efficiently.
 Fundamental Data Concepts
Before we go any further, let’s discuss some fundamental concepts
about how data are organized in information systems. A conceptual
framework of several levels of data has been devised that
differentiates among different groupings, or elements, of data.
Thus, data may be logically organized into
• characters,
• fields,
• records,
• files, and
• databases ,
just as writing can be organized into letters, words, sentences,
paragraphs, and documents.
 Character
The most basic logical data element is the character , which
consists of a single alphabetic, numeric, or other symbol. You
might argue that the bit or byte is a more elementary data
element, but remember that those terms refer to the physical
storage elements provided by the computer hardware.
A character is that it is a byte used to represent a particular
character. From a user’s point of view (i.e., from a logical as
opposed to a physical or hardware view of data),
A character is the smallest element of data that can be
observed and manipulated.
A single representaion
 Field
• The next higher level of data next to character is the field , or data item.
• A field consists of a grouping of related characters.
• For example, the grouping of alphabetic characters in a person’s name
may form a name field (or typically, last name, first name, and middle
initial fields), and the grouping of numbers in a sales amount forms a
sales amount field. Specifically, a data field represents an attribute (a
characteristic or quality) of some entity (object, person, place, or
event).
For example, an employee’s salary is an attribute that is a typical data
field used to describe an entity who is an employee of a business.
Generally speaking, fields are organized such that they represent some
logical order, for example, last_name, first_name, address, city, state,
and zip code.
 Record
All of the fields used to describe the attributes of an entity are
grouped to form a record. Thus, a record represents a collection
of attributes that describe a single instance of an entity .
An example is a person’s payroll record, which consists of data
fields describing attributes such as the person’s name, Social
Security number, and rate of pay. Fixed-length records contain a
fixed number of fixed-length data fields.
Variable length records contain a variable number of fields and field
lengths. Another way of looking at a record is that it represents a
single instance of an entity.
Each record in an employee file describes one specific
employee/entity.
 File
A group of related records is a data file
(sometimes referred to as a table or flat file ).
More broadly, the term refers to any database
that exists in a single file in the form of rows
and columns, with no relationships or links
between records and fields except the table
structure. Regardless of the name used, any
grouping of related records in tabular (row-
and-column form) is called a file .
 Database
• A database is an integrated collection of logically related data
elements. A database consolidates records previously stored in
separate files into a common pool of data elements that provides data
for many applications.
• The data stored in a database are independent of the application
programs using them and of the type of storage devices on which they
are stored. Thus, databases contain data elements describing entities
and relationships among entities.
• A database doesn’t need to look complex or technical to be a
database; it just needs to provide a logical organization method and
easy access to the data stored in it.
You probably use one or two rapidly growing databases just about every
day: How about Face book, MySpace, or YouTube?
 How to Identify a Record
Normally, the first field in a record is used to store some type of unique
identifier for the record. This unique identifier is called the primary
key .
The value of a primary key
• serve to uniquely identify one instance of an entity,
• distinguish a record from another.
For example, if we wanted to uniquely identify a single student from a
group of related students, we could use a student ID number as a
primary key.
If no specific data can be found to serve as a primary key for a record,
the database designer can simply assign a record a unique sequential
number so that no two records will ever have the same primary key.
 Database Structures

The relationships among the many individual

data elements stored in databases are based
on one of several logical data structures, or
models.
Database management system (DBMS) packages
are designed to use a specific data structure to
provide end users with quick, easy access to
information stored in databases.
 DB Structure Approach

fundamental database structures

A. Hierarchical,
B. Network,
C. Relational,
D. Object Oriented
 Hierarchical Structure
A logical data structure in which the relationships between records form a
hierarchy or tree structure. The relationships among records are one to
many, because each data element is related only to one element above it.

Early mainframe DBMS packages used the hierarchical structure , in which

the relationships between records form a hierarchy or treelike structure.

In the traditional hierarchical model, all records are dependent and

arranged in multilevel structures, consisting of one root record and any
number of subordinate levels. Thus, all of the relationships among records
are one-to-many because each data element is related to only one
element above it.
 Hierarchical Model
• Stores data as hierarchically related to each other. Record shape are tree
structure.
• Logically represented by an upside down tree
– Each parent can have many children
– Each child has only one parent
• Several records or files are hierarchically related with each other. For example,
an organization has several departments, each of which has attributes such as
name of director, number of staffs, annual products etc.

• Each department has several divisions with attributes of name of manager,

number of staffs, annual products etc.

• Then each division has several sections with attributes such as name of head,
number of staff, number of PCs etc.
 CONTD….
 Advantages
 High speed access to large databases
 Easy to update- (to add or delete new nodes)

 Disadvantages
 Links are only possible in Vertical Direction (from top to
bottom) but not for horizontal or diagonal unless they
have same parents.
 For example, it is hard to find what is the relation between
URP and DCE from this data model.
 Network Structure

• A logical data structure that allows many-to-many relationships among

data records. It allows entry into a database at multiple points, because
any data element or record can be related to many other data
elements.

The network structure can represent more complex logical relationships

and is still used by some mainframe DBMS packages. It allows many-to-
many relationships among records; that is, the network model can
access a data element by following one of several paths because any
data element or record can be related to any number of other data
elements.
 Network Database Model
• Doesn’t force data into hierarchical levels
• Owner/Member relationships:
– Owner record type
– Member record type
• Each owner may have one or more member types
• Each member type and corresponding owner record
type form set, which represents relationship
 Network Database Model
• Each record can have multiple parents
– Composed of sets - relationships
– Each set has owner record and member record
– Member may have several owners
– A set represents a 1:M relationship between the owner
and the member
 Relational Structure
• A logical data structure in which all data elements within the database are viewed as being
stored in the form of simple tables. DBMS packages based on the relational model can link
data elements from various tables as long as the tables share common data elements.

The relational model is the most widely used of the three database structures. It is used by
most microcomputer DBMS packages, as well as by most midrange and mainframe systems.
In the relational model, all data elements within the database are viewed as being stored in
the form of simple two-dimensional tables , sometimes referred to as relations .

The tables in a relational database are flat files that have rows and columns. Each row
represents a single record in the file, and each column represents a field. The major
difference between a flat file and a database is that a flat file can only have data attributes
specified for one file. In contrast, a database can specify data attributes for multiple files
simultaneously and can relate the various data elements in one file to those in one or more
other files.
 Relational Structure
That’s why organizations and their managers need
to practice data resource management , a
managerial activity that applies information
systems technologies like
• database management ,
• data warehousing , and other
data management tools to the task of managing an
organization’s data resources to meet the
information needs of their business stakeholders.
 Relational Structure
• The relational model of data is the most
widely used model today.
– Main concept: relation, basically a table with
rows and columns.
 Relational Structure

– Key of relation - one to one, one to many,

many to many
 Relational Database
 Advantages
 there is no redundancy.
 type of building of an owner can be changed without destroying the
relation between type and rate.
 a new type of building for example "Clay" can be inserted. (row insert
is easy).

 Disadvantages
 Require a number of tables and relationship
 Its difficult to add a new column in the table.
 Object Oriented Database
• An Object Oriented model uses functions to model spatial and non-
spatial relationships of geographic objects and the attributes.

• An object is an encapsulated unit which is characterized by

attributes, a set of orientations and rules. An object oriented model
has the following characteristics.

• generic properties : there should be an inheritance relationship.

• abstraction : objects, classes and super classes are to be generated

by classification, generalization, association and aggregation.

• adhoc queries : users can order spatial operations to obtain spatial

relationships of geographic objects using a special language.
 CONTD…
• Current generation systems have a need to handle complex
data for complex applications such as
– computer aided design
– computer aided software engineering
– geographic information systems
– interactive web sites

• Relational systems are inadequate for these systems

– Why do you think this is?
 Data structure/Models

1. Hierarchical 3. Relational
2. Network
4. Object
 Types of Databases
Continuing developments in information technology
and its business applications have resulted in the
evolution of several major types of databases .
1. Operational DB
2. Management DB
3. Information Ware house DB
4. Distributed DB
5. End User DB
6. External DB
 Operational Databases
Operational databases store detailed data needed to support
the business processes and operations of a company. They
are also called subject area databases (SADB), transaction
databases , and production databases .
Examples are a customer database, human resource database,
inventory database, and other databases containing data
generate by business operations.
For example, a human resource database which include data
identifying each employee and his or her time worked,
compensation, benefits, performance appraisals, training and
development status, and other related human resource data.
 Distributed Databases
Many organizations replicate and distribute copies or parts of
databases to network servers at a variety of sites. These
distributed databases can reside on network servers on the
World Wide Web, on corporate intranets or extranets, or on
other company networks.
Distributed databases may be copies of operational or analytical
databases, hypermedia or discussion databases, or any other
type of database. Replication and distribution of databases
improve database performance at end-user worksites.
Ensuring that the data in an organization’s distributed databases
are consistently and concurrently updated is a major challenge
of distributed database management.
 Data Warehouses
A data warehouse stores data that have been extracted from
the various operational, external, and other databases of an
organization. It is a central source of the data that have
been cleaned, transformed, and cataloged so that they can
be used by managers and other business professionals for
data mining, online analytical processing, and other forms
of business analysis, market research, and decision support.
Data warehouses may be subdivided into data marts , which
hold subsets of data from the warehouse that focus on
specific aspects of a company, such as a department or a
business process.
 Data Mining
Data mining is a major use of data warehouse databases
and the static data they contain. In data mining, the data
in a data warehouse are analyzed to reveal hidden
patterns and trends in historical business activity. This
analysis can be used to help managers make decisions
about strategic changes in business operations to gain
competitive advantages in the marketplace.
Data mining can discover new correlations, patterns, and
trends in vast amounts of business data (frequently
several terabytes of data) stored in data warehouses.
 CONTD…
• An integrated collection of data extracted
from operational, historical, and external
databases and cleaned, transformed, and
cataloged for retrieval and analysis ( data
mining ) to provide business intelligence for
business decision making.
 Benefits of Data Mining
For example, many companies use data mining to:
• Perform market-basket analysis to identify new
product bundles.
• Find root causes of quality or manufacturing
problems.
• Prevent customer attrition and acquire new
customers.
• Cross-sell to existing customers.
• Profile customers with more accuracy.
 Logical and Physical Database Design
• Logical Data Elements Data elements that are
independent of the physical data media on which they are
recorded.
• The entity attributes become columns of each table in the
database.
• An abstract model of DB
• Identifies the relation ships between data elements
• Categorize data relations
 CONTD…
• Physical database design
The Entities in the Logical Data Model are
translated into Tables in the physical database
design
transform the E-R in to tables
determine the type and size of data
 Database Terminology
• Tables within a relational database hold sets of data using rows and
columns
A set of related records

• Records A collection of data about an individual item. Rows (records)

appear horizontally in a report, and contain one or more columns.

• Fields A single item of data common to all records Columns (fields) are named
data elements and appear vertically in a report .

• Primary Keys identify uniqueness in a row

• Indexes are created for faster access to the data in the database
 Relationship Types
• One-to-One : relationship is single valued in both directions
– A manager manages one department; a department has only one
manager.

• One-to-Many : relationship is multi-valued in one direction - one row in

the parent table is associated with many rows in the dependent table.
– One department has many employees.

• Many-to-Many : relationships are multi-valued in both directions. This

type of relationship can be expressed in a table with a column for each
entity. (crosswalk table)
– An employee can work on more than one project, and a project can
have more than one employee assigned. Employee, Project, and
Employee/Project tables.
 Advantage of DBMS
• Data sharing-accessibility from the organized source
• Reduce data redundancy-physical existence is in
actual server
• Improve data integrity- Over check manner
• Improved data administration-and control-
uniformity and standardized application
• Increased emphasis on data as a resource-aims to
set a responsible section
•
 Problems of DBMS
• Concurrency problem
• Ownership problem
• Resource problem
• Security problem