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Introduction to Database Concepts and Microsoft Access 2000

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Database Concepts and Access 2000

Introduction
Database Microsoft Access

Design and Creation Plan

Tables Queries Forms Reports
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Things to Do

Contact your customer support Backup Backup Backup

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What is a Database?

A structured collection of related data An address book, a telephone directory, a timetable, etc.

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Database Structure
Store

Sort DATA Retrieve

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Database Options

1,000s of records Freeware/Shareware

0$ - $200

100,000s of records MS Access

$239 - $479

1,000,000,000s of records Oracle/SQL

$105 - $40,000
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Data vs. Information

Data a collection of facts made up of text, numbers and dates: Murray 35000 7/18/86 Information - the meaning given to data in the way it is interpreted: Mr. Murray is a sales person whose annual salary is $35,000 and whose hire date is July 18, 1986.

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Basic Database Concepts

Table
A set of related records

Name: Barry Harris College: Medicine Tel: 392-5555 Name: Barry Harris College: Medicine Tel: 392-5555

Record
A collection of data about an individual item

Field
A single item of data common to all records
Name: Barry Harris

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An Example of a Table
Fields

Records

Name Graff Harris Ipswich

GatorLink rgraff bharris zipswich

Phone 392-3900 392-5555 846-5656

College Pharmacy Medicine PHHP

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Design and Document Your Database

A designers best tools are a pencil and paper

It is important to plan what you are going to do

The sooner you touch the computer the sooner youll make a mistake
If you dont plan you will often have to start again
Document what you are doing, will you remember what you did in three months time?

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Questions To Ask Yourself

What have I got?

(Inputs)

What do I want?

(Outputs)

What do I need to do to get there?

(Process)

How am I going to build it?

(Application/Program)
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Why Use Access?

Familiar look and feel of Windows Easy to start building simple databases Can build sophisticated systems Its already on your computer True relational database

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What is a Relational Database?

A relational database is a collection of tables from which data can be accessed in many different ways without having to reorganize the database tables.

That is, once relationships are created, tables can talk to each other. We can link (relate) the tables to find:

Which doctors are seeing a patient Which students are in which class Which item is selling the most on Fridays
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Basic Design Rules of Relational Databases

Unique Field Names

Here we see an Address 1 & 2. One of them should be for Campus Addresses, and one for Home Addresses, but because of the vague field names, some data has been entered incorrectly.
Name Graff Harris GatorLink Address1 rgraff Bharris PO Box 100012 Gainesville, FL 32610 PO Box 100234 Gainesville, FL 32610 846 West 52nd Ave Gainesville, FL 32609 Address2 123 West Main Street, Gainesville, FL 32601 456 South 3rd Road Newberry, FL 32684 PO Box 100256 Gainesville, FL 32610

Ipswich zipswich

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Basic Design Rules of Relational Databases

No Calculated or Derived Fields

If we wanted to see how long an employee had been working with us, we can calculate their Length Employed by subtracting their hire date from todays date. However, since todays date is always changing, this data very quickly becomes stagnant.
Name Graff Harris GatorLink Date Hired Length Employed rgraff bharris 05/15/2000 02/08/1986 4 yrs, 2 mo 18 yrs, 6 mo

Ipswich zipswich

12/15/1999

4 yrs, 7 mo

Access will let you create calculations in queries, forms and reports.
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Basic Design Rules of Relational Databases

Data is broken down into Smallest Logical Parts

Putting all of the home address in one field may make for convenient data entry, but it makes it very difficult to work with the data. For example, what if I needed to sort by City or Zip Code? Pulling fields together is fairly simple, pulling them apart is very difficult.
Name Graff Harris GatorLink Home Address rgraff Bharris 123 West Main Street, Gainesville, FL 32601 456 South 3rd Road, Newberry, FL 32684

Ipswich zipswich

846 West 52nd Ave, Gainesville, FL 32609

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Basic Design Rules of Relational Databases

Unique Records

If you dont have unique records, your database cant tell which record you may be referring to.

Name Graff Graff Graff Harris Ipswich

GatorLink rgraff rgraff rgraff bharris zipswich

Phone 2-3900 392-3900 392-3900 392-5555 846-5656

College Pharmacy COP Pharmacy Medicine PHHP

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Primary Keys
Name Graff Harris GatorLink rgraff bharris Phone 392-3900 392-5555 College Pharmacy Medicine

Ipswich

zipswich

846-5656

PHHP

To ensure that each record is unique in each table, we can set one field to be a Primary Key field. A Primary Key is a field that that will contain no duplicates and no blank values. Looking at the table above, what would be the best Primary Key?
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Primary Keys
Name Graff Harris GL rgraff bharris Phone 392-3900 392-5555 College Pharmacy Medicine

Ipswich

zipswich

846-5656

PHHP

While each column in this particular data set has unique data, the field that will work best for us is GL (GatorLink). Many employees will work for the same college, have the same last name and possibly even share telephone numbers, but each employee should have a unique GatorLink ID.

When there is not a unique field in your data set, you can use an AutoNumber. Access can create incremented or random AutoNumbers for your primary key.
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Lets Get Started Planning

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Starting Microsoft Access

Click on Microsoft Access in the Start menu

Or if you have set up a shortcut on your Desktop, click on the Access shortcut icon

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Opening a Database

To open a database when you start Access

Choose the Open an existing file option on the opening dialog, as illustrated

To open a database once you have already started Access

- Choose Open from the File menu - OR press CTRL+O - OR click on the Open icon on the toolbar

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Introducing Access Tools

Tables Queries

Employees
Customers Reports Forms
Customer
Company Name
Address City Telephone Contact Name

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The Access Database Window

Icons down the left hand side provide access to all database objects
Select the object by clicking the icon

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Navigating Fields and Records

To move through records and fields

Tab Shift+Tab Enter Shift+Enter

Home End Ctrl+Home Ctrl+End

Page Up Page Down The Arrow Keys

First Record

To move through records

Current Record
Previous Record Next Record

Last Record
New Record

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Introducing Tables
Datasheet View

Design View

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Table Design View

Fieldname Data Type Description

Properties

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Introducing Queries

A means of asking questions of your database Can look across a number of Tables

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Introducing Forms

A friendlier view of the database Used for data input, menus, display and printing

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Introducing Reports
Output of information from your database in the form of a printed report Allows you to group and summarize information Can be previewed to the screen prior to printing

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Lets Create Our Database

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