TASK 1

The concept of database management system and its importance using examples from different
database environment

Today many business decisions are made based upon the data and records available in the
organization’s database. Therefore, it won’t be wrong to say that an efficient management
system of the database should be in place so as to promote the smooth functioning of the
establishment and support its business requirements. And as more and more critical decisions
rely on data, the role of a database manager becomes even more prominent and important. With
the growing complexity, tightening IT budgets, and a rapidly increasing data growth, database
managers are required to meet unprecedented demands.

Another important reason why management of a database has taken center stage is because
customer database has become vital for companies, especially for those in the sales and
marketing sector. Customer records and data are used to identify the demographic group to
which a company’s products record the maximum sale. It can also be used to identify certain
demographic groups where its products fare badly. Moreover, customer relationship management
relies on these data.

The main objective of having a database management system (DBMS) is to ensure the smooth
performance of the database and its maintenance. They not only ensure the functionality of the
database system but also diagnose and troubleshoot any bottleneck or problem that may arise
from time to time. It is also his duty to add new users or delete old ones from the system.
Another important feature of DBMS of is security. Since many databases are exposed to the
Internet, securing these sensitive and private data is really important. There are many software
solutions that are designed to help the database administrators in maintaining the databases.

Database administrators also keep a backup and recovery system in place. Backup software
solutions are available for both Oracle and SQL Server databases. These software solutions make
the task of a Database administrator easier by simplifying the process of data migration and
speeding up the restore time. Database administrators also ensure that databases don’t run out of
space.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF DBM

Database management system is the system of computer software that is aimed to provide a
managing tool for maintaining the data, through various data models. If you look over the large
companies or even the smaller ones, can you believe that all of them are maintaining the manual
registers for the collection of data? Obviously not! The invention of computer and the software
has made it easy to manage the data of all types in the database management system and then
having a direct access to data more quickly and easily than the manual system. For example, if
you go to your doctor for a routinely check up, he will have a record of the last time you visited
him. This shows that for each patient he will have the same record and this is what the database
management system is supposed to do.

A collection of programs that enables you to store, modify, and extract information from a
database. There are many different types of DBMSs, ranging from small systems that run on
personal computers to huge systems that run on mainframes. The following are examples of
database applications:

# computerized library systems

* automated teller machines

# flight reservation systems

* computerized parts inventory systems

From a technical standpoint, DBMSs can differ widely. The terms relational, network, flat, and
hierarchical all refer to the way a DBMS organizes information internally. The internal
organization can affect how quickly and flexibly you can extract information.

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Requests for information from a database are made in the form of a query, which is a stylized
question. For example, the query

SELECT ALL WHERE NAME = "SMITH" AND AGE > 35

requests all records in which the NAME field is SMITH and the AGE field is greater than 35.
The set of rules for constructing queries is known as a query language. Different DBMSs support
different query languages, although there is a semi-standardized query language called SQL
(structured query language). Sophisticated languages for managing database systems are called
fourth-generation languages, or 4GLs for short.

The information from a database can be presented in a variety of formats. Most DBMSs include
a report writer program that enables you to output data in the form of a report. Many DBMSs
also include a graphics component that enables you to output information in the form of graphs
and charts.

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TASK 2

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

DDBMS has many advantages. Data is located near the greatest demand site, access is faster,
processing is faster due to several sites spreading out the work load, new sites can be added
quickly and easily, communication is improved, operating costs are reduced, it is user friendly,
there is less danger of a single-point failure, and it has process independence.

Several reasons why businesses and organizations move to distributed databases include
organizational and economic reasons, reliable and flexible interconnection of existing database,
and the future incremental growth. Companies believe that a decentralized, distributed data
database approach will adapt more naturally with the structure of the organizations. Distributed
database is more suitable solution when several database already exist in an organization. In
addition, the necessity of performing global application can be easily perform with distributed
database. If an organization grows by adding new relatively independent organizational units,
then the distributed database approach support a smooth incremental growth.

Data can physically reside nearest to where it is most often accessed, thus providing users with
local control of data that they interact with. This results in local autonomy of the data allowing
users to enforce locally the policies regarding access to their data.

One might want to consider a parallel architecture is to improve reliability and availability of the
data in a scalable system. In a distributed system, with some careful tact, it is possible to access
some, or possibly all of the data in a failure mode if there is sufficient data replication.

DDBMS also has a few disadvantages. Managing and controlling is complex, there is less
security because data is at so many different sites.

Distributed databases provides more flexible accesses that increase the chance of security
violations since the database can be accessed throughout every site within the network. For many
applications, it is important to provide secure. Present distributed database systems do not
provide adequate mechanisms to meet these objectives. Hence the solution requires the operation

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of DDBMS capable of handling multilevel data. Such a system is also called a multi level
security distributed database management systems (MLS-DDBMS). MLS-DDBMS provides a
verification service for users who wish to share data in the database at different level security. In
MLS- DDBMS, every data item in the database has correlated with one of several classifications
or sensitivities.

The ability to ensure the integrity of the database in the presence of unpredictable failures of both
hardware and software components is also an important features of any distributed database
management systems. The integrity of a database is concerned with its consistency, correctness,
validity, and accuracy. The integrity controls must be built into the structure of software,
databases, and involved personnel.

If there are multiple copies of the same data, then this duplicated data introduces additional
complexity in ensuring that all copies are updated for each update. The notion of concurrency
control and recoverability consume much of the research efforts in the area of distributed
database theory. Increasing in reliability and performance is the goal and not the status quo.

1. Data Independence :

The data is held in such a way that changes to the structure of the database do not effect any of
the programs used to access the data.

2. Consistency of Data :

Each item of data is held only once therefore no danger of item being updated on one system and
not on another.

3. Control Over Redundancy :

In a non-database system, the same information may be held on several files. This wastes space
and makes updating more time-consuming. A database system minimizes these effects.

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4. Integrity of Data :

The DBMS provides users with the ability to specify constraints on data such as making a field
entry essential or using a validation routine.

5. Greater Security of Data :

The DBMS can ensure only authorized users are allowed access to the data.

6.Centralized Control of Data :

The Database Administrator will control who has access to what and will structure the database
with the needs of the

7.More Information Available to Users :

Users have access to a wider range of data that was previously held in seperate departments
andsometimes on incompatible systems.

8. Increased Productivity :

The DBMS provides an easy to use query language that allows users to get immediate response
from their queries rather than having to use a specialist "programmer" to write queries for them.
whole department in mind

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