Chapter 1: Introduction to Databases

INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

Chapter 1: Introduction to Databases

What is a database?
Why a database is necessary?
Advantages of the DBMS
How a database stores application data
Data manipulation and retrieval
Not use cases of DBMS

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Databases
Database is a collection of data which is
Interrelated
Organized

Database Applications
Sales
Banks
Online orders
Human Resources
Mobile Operators
High Schools
Government Organizations

Databases are different in size and structure

Databases are everywhere

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Example of Mobile Database

The interface allows
Add new customers
Keep track of incoming and outgoing messages
Advertise new services
Accept miscellaneous payments

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

Database Features
Redundancy
Storing entity information once

Eliminated inconsistency
Multiple versions of an entity

Data isolation
Single entry point

Data integrity
Forced data constraints

Data concurrency
Two processes accessing the same data

Data security
Sensitive data protection

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

Database Management System

Software which provides
Storage of data
Manipulation of data
Query of data

DBMS components
Storage Manager
Interface between DBMS and OS
Query Processor
Query Translation and Optimization
Transaction Manager
Prevents inconsistencies in case of failures

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

DBMS Storage Manager

Storage Manager is a piece of software which resides

between data in the database and the queries accessing data

Responsibilities are
OS interaction

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DBMS Query Processor

Translates and optimizes query

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DBMS Transaction Manager

Transaction Managers responsibility is to make sure that the

database remains in consistent state no matter what

Concurrency Control mechanism ensures that interactions

among transaction are valid

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Database Management System Architecture

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Data Model
Model that describes data
Relational Model
ER (Entity-Relationship) data model
Semi-structured model
Object oriented model
Network model
Hierarchical model

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

Relational Data Model

All information is stored in tables (Ted Codd, 1970)
Visually is a two dimensional matrix

Columns are fields

Rows are records

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

THE STRUCTURED QUERY LANGUAGE (SQL)

A query language used to retrieve and manipulate data
Currently the most spread
Applications query database using
Embedded SQL
JDBC
ODBC
Stored Procedures

Example of a SQL statement

SELECT BDATE, ADDRESS

FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE FNAME='John' AND MINIT='B
AND LNAME='Smith

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INFT 2301: Fundamentals of Databases, School of

Data Definition Language (DDL)

Create, drop and modify database objects
Creating a table
Dropping an index
Altering table/index attributes
Creating triggers, views, synonyms and etc.

Any object addition/removal/modification is reflected in the data dictionary

Table columns and their data types
Index information height, clustering factor and etc.
Free and used space in tables/indexes
Timestamps and etc.

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Data Definition Language (Cont.)

Example of a DDL

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Data Manipulation Language (DML)

A language for manipulating data in the database
Adding data
Removing data
Modifying data

Example of a DML

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Database Design
Conceptual Design
Requirement analysis

Logical Design
Implementation of the previous model in DBMS

Physical Design
File organizations
Indexes
Physical storage parameters

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Life Without Databases

Huge Investments
DBMS features overhead
DBMS generality

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End of Chapter 1

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