DATABASE

Definition of Database
In computing language, database is definite as a collection of logically related data
that being shared, and description of this data was designed to meet the information
needs of an organization. The database is a single, possibly large repository of data
that can be used concurrently or simultaneously by many department and users. For
example:-

Doctorial Department
Patients

Diseases

Drugs
Patients Registration Unit

Pharmaceuticals Department

Diagram: Database can be shared corporate resource.

All data items are integrated with a minimum amount of duplication. The database
not longer own by one unit or department in one organization but it is shared
corporate resource. The databases hold not only the organization’s operational data
but also a description of this data. That’s why a database is also defined as a self-
describing collection of integrated records.
Example at the company, all managers can access the staff information by using
department’s computer to know information about the staff at the company. They no
need to open each of files to get the information. The managers only need to key in
the statement needed and the database will search it for them.

Database Example
Nowadays, we do not aware the usage of databases in our daily life eventhough it is
now such an internal part of our day-to-day life. One example of databases that we
used daily is involved of Staff Information System.
The example stated was based on the scenario given. For ITtoYou Sdn. Bhd, Staff
Information System is needed for company management in certain department. Each
of local departments may need the information about staff name, staff salary, staff
expertise, staff qualification and so on. The database will be a computerized index that
allows user to find the staff information based on his/her qualification or its name.
Other process is maintains and updates staff information. It can maintain the staff
name and qualification within a security system that allowed certain users or
departments to modify it. So, the information will be secured and cannot be
interrupted by any user.
The example was about on how the database being linked and operate. The first
database was about STAFF table which contain Staff ID, Name, I/C, Gender, and
Qualification. The STAFF table was linked to the WOTK table by using Staff ID as a
reference. In WORK table, the attributes consist of Ex Id and Work. Then the WORK
table is linked to WORK DEPARTMENT table by Ex ID from the WORK table. In
WORK DEPARTMENT table there is another references which from
DEPARTMENT table. The reference is Dept ID. Besides that, another attribute in
WORK DEPARTMENT table is WID. Another attribute in last table which known as
DEPARTMENT table is title. The example is stated in the next page.

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 STAFF
Staff ID Name I/C Gender Qualification
ITD 209 Saiful Azham 830921-14-8923 Male BA(Hons)
ITD 210 Lee Chaolan 711211-06-7845 Male Degree
ITD 211 Nai Ruby 810812-45-8888 Female BA (Hons)
ITD 212 William 810231-45-7683 Male Degree
Juide

WORK
Ex ID Work Staff ID
EXP 08 Accountant ITD 210
EXP 09 Network Engineer ITD 211
EXP 10 Computer Maintainer ITD 209
EXP 11 Sales Manager ITD 212

WORK DEPARTMENT
WID Ex ID Dept ID
EXP DMN
WD11
08 08
EXP DMN
WD12
09 09
EXP DMN
WD13
10 09
EXP DMN
WD14
11 10

DEPARTMENT
Dept ID Title
DMN 08 Accounting
DMN 09 Computer & Networking
DMN 10 Production

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 Advantages of Database
Database consist a lot of advantages that become one of reason why we
use database:-
1. Less Duplication of Data
Using database is better than using the file-based which is
less duplication of data will be occurred. What is mean by
less duplication of data? The data will not be redundant or
being copied several times when we want to modify it. We
just modify the data or information needed in one update
and stored in one place only.
When the user wants to update the address of the staff for
example, he/she just need to change it in one file. Rather
when using file-based, user needs to change the data from
each file.

As example, we modify the word

“Hamsah” to “Hamzah”

Automatically the data in

other file will change.
This shows that less
duplication of data in
database.

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2. Integrated Data
While using database, all application data is stored in single
facilities. Data maybe redundant but in other files not in
same files, which means there’s no same data in one file. For
example, if there has two name of Ong Hao Kent in one file
but other data about them is difference like address or state,
the data is acceptable. In the other hand, if the data is same
in one file there maybe will be a conflict on it.

In diagram show above, the staff may same but other

information of the staff are different.

If the data are being duplicated, this message will appear to

show that the data maybe conflicted.

Rather than when using file base, user cannot trace the data
that have being redundant and there is no data integrated in
file. This lackness may conflict the data information.

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3. Efficient Data Access
Database make the data managing more efficient on it
access. The data is variety of technique to retrieve, store
and update. User no need to scroll down the file to search
the data needed like file-based system. User just needs to
state the statement needed and the data will appear. For
example, if user need to change the address information in
data about staff that work on ITtoYou Sdn. Bhd, he/she just
key-in the statement needed and changed it.

As example, we modify the word

“Hamsah” to “Hamzah”

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4. Data Independence
Database advantage of data independence is meant by
techniques that allow data to be changed without affecting
the applications that process it. Data independence which is
accomplished in a Database Management System (DBMS)
allows the database to be structurally changed without
affecting most existing programs. It is because DBMS
provide an abstract view of data to insulate application code
from details. Programs access data in a DBMS by field and
are concerned with only the data fields they use, not the
format of the complete record. Thus, when the record layout
is updated (fields added, deleted or changed in size), the
only programs that must be changed are those that use
those new fields.
For example, when the manager of ITtoYou. Sdn. Bhd
wants to change the staff department record. He/she will
only change the data without changing the data format of
the database.

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 Examples above show that the data application does not
change eventhough the data have been changed.
5. Easier of Representing Data in User’s View
Database in Database Management System (DBMS) have a
relationship among data which represented DBMS utility.
This relationship of data or data integration may help user to
search the data by filtering the features of data needed.
Rather than file-based system, the data maybe quite difficult
to be found because user needs to sort each data in order to
find the data needed.
As example, when a department or unit in ITtoYou. Sdn.
Bhd wants to know just only the staff department, they just
choose the department title and the information and the
data about the department will appeared.

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6. Concurrent Access and Crash Recovery
What is mean by concurrent access? Concurrent access
meant a lot of users use the database at the same time but
schedules concurrent access thinks one user at a time.
Therefore user can use the database simultaneously without
any problem rather than the usage of file-based which user
can use the file at the same time but the right to access or
change the data is blocked by read-only term.
For example, when Finance Department and Human
Resource Department in ITtoYou Sdn. Bhd Company want to
access the staff information system concurrently, Database
Management System (DBMS) will allow both of them to
access and use its database’s.
While crash recovery is a system that prevent database
from data lost. The data will backup manually or
automatically to prevent from the data lost when the
database is being attacked by virus or by the unauthorized
user especially.
For example, when staff information system in ITtoYou Sdn.
Bhd had being attacked by a hacker, their data maybe lost
or corrupted. The advantage of crash recovery will restored
previous well backup data to operate the system backed.

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 Database Models
There are three types of most common models use today in database. The
three of databases are:-

1. Hierarchical Model
Various techniques are used to model data structure. Most
databases are built around one particular data model. For
example hierarchical model which is data is organized in tree
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. Data in a series of
record, which have a set of field values attached to it. There is
a hierarchy of parent and child data segments. The Parent
Child Relationship is one to many (1: M).
The hierarchical model is a restricted type of network model.
Again data is represented as collection of records and
relationships are represented by sets. However, this model
allows a node to have only one parent. Record-base (logical)
data models are used to specify the overall structure of the
database and a higher-level description of the
implementation. Their main drawback lies in the fact that they
do not provide adequate facilities for explicitly specifying

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 constrains on the data, whereas the object-based data models
lack the means of logical structure specification but provide
more semantic substance by allowing the user to specify
constrains on the data.
Hierarchical model was firstly represented by Rockwell & IBM
in year 1968. The model which was implemented primarily by
IBM's Information Management System (IMS) only allows one-
to-one or one-to-many relationships between entities.
However some IMS also provides non-hierarchical features.
The example show in the next page, show the example of
hierarchical model of Staff Information System in ITtoYou. Sdn.
Bhd

MINISTRY OF FINANCE MINISTRY

BUDGET BSKL PROJECT

MINISTER PTD CABINET

2. Network Model
In the network model, data is represented by sets of records,
and relationship represented by sets. In this network, some
data were more naturally modelled with more than one parent
per child. Network data model also permitted the modelling of
many-to-many relationship in data. Any record can be related
to any number of other elements. The usage of this model is
very slow and difficult besides than wasting the time.
In 1971, the Conference on Data Systems Languages
(CODASYL) formally defined the network model. The basic
data modelling construct in the network model is the set
construct. A set consists of an owner record type, a set name,
and a member record type.
Popularity of this network was coincided within the
popularity of hierarchical model. The data model is a simple
network, and link and intersection record types (called
junction records by IDMS) may exist, as well as sets between
them. Thus, the complete network of relationships is
represented by several pair wise sets; in each set some (one)
record type is owner (at the tail of the network arrow) and one

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 or more record types are members (at the head of the
relationship arrow).
Example of network model:-

FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE DEPARTEMNT

TRAGEDY NATURAL DISASTER

CONDITION CONDITION

ACCIDENT FLOOD LAND SLIDE

3. Relational Model
Relational model is meaning all serious implementation of the
relational model allow the creation of indexes which provide
fast access to rows in a table if values of certain column are
known.
This model had been presented within a paper of research in
1970 by EF. Codd. Relational model is based on the concept of
mathematical relations. In this model, data and relationship
are represented as tables, each of which has a number of
columns with a unique name. It also can link data elements
from various tables provide information to users. Besides that,
the sequence of column is insignificant. A relational database
has no predetermined relationship between the data such as
one-to-many sets or one-to-one.
The basic data structure of the relational model is the table,
where information about particular entity is represented in
column and rows (also called tuples). Thus, the “relation” in

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relational database refers to the various tables in database; a
relation is a set of tuples. The columns enumerate the various
attributes of the entity, and arrow is an actual instance of the
entity that is represented by the relation. As a result, each
tuple of the employee table represent various attributes of a
single employee.
All relations in a relational table database have to adhere to
some basic rules to qualify as relations. First, the ordering of
column is immaterial in a table. Second, there cannot be
identical tuples or row in table. And third, each tuples will
contain a single value for each of it attributes. Tables can also
have a designated singe attribute or a set of attributes that
can act as a “key”, which can be used to uniquely identify
each tuple in the table.
Example of relational data model:
DEPARTMENT FILE

Dept Code Unit Venue

IRD 186-G2 Computer Block B

Admin
IRD 187-G2 Finance
Block

SUBORDINATES FILE

SubID Name Dept Code

William
ITR 180-21 IRD 186-G2
Abdullah
Kamenashi
ITR1 180-22 IRD 186-G2
Nahara

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