BASICS OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

By Parteek Bhatia Sr. Lecturer Department of Comp Sc & Engineering Thapar University Patiala

Understanding Databases What is Data and Information?

Data is the term, that may be new to beginners, but it is very interesting and simple to understand. It can be anything like name of a person or a place or a number etc. Data is the name given to basic facts and entities such as names and numbers. The main examples of data are weights, prices, costs, numbers of items sold, employee names, product names, addresses, tax codes, registration marks etc.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Information: Information is data that has been converted into a more useful or intelligible form. It helps human beings in their decision making process. Examples are: Time Table, Merit List, Report card, Headed tables, printed documents, pay slips, receipts, reports etc. The information is obtained by assembling items of data into a meaningful form.

For example, marks obtained by students and their roll numbers form data, the report card/sheet is the information.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Difference between Data and Information

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Database The related information when placed is an organized form makes a database. The organization of data/information is necessary because unorganized information has no meaning. In dictionary, the words are arranged in alphabetic order along with their meanings.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

There are so many operations like: To add new information (e.g. to add the address of a new friend in your address book) To view or retrieve the stored information (e.g. you have to find the address of one of your old friends) To modify or edit the existing information (e.g. your friend has shifted to a new place so his address would get changed) To remove or delete the unwanted information (e.g. your friend has changed his/her mobile number, so his/her mobile number would have to be removed from list) Arranging the information in a desired order etc.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Manual database and its problems

Consider an example of accounts department of an organization. To make the salary calculations of the employees every month they are to keep the record of every employee and do a number of calculations such as addition of allowances like DA, HRA to the basic salary and to make several deductions as loan recoveries, income tax and insurance etc and at the end, to make the pay slips of the net pay. This whole procedure is repeated every month and is very tedious and laborious job. Its a mere calculation job and does not require any logic or intelligence. So to waste the skills and intelligence of human beings on such repetitive calculations is not a wise decision.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Database and Computers

Computer has a large storage capacity. It can store thousands of records at a time. It has high speed, within no time it searches any desired information, arrange the data in alphabetical order, do calculations on the data and make repetitions and so on. Computer is more accurate.

Data in computers can be stored in the form of a file, records and fields. There are two approaches for storing data in computers such as File based approach and Database approach.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

File Based Approach

File Based system: File-based systems were an early attempt to computerize the manual filing system that we are all familiar with.

A file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. File systems may use a storage device such as a hard disk or CD-ROM and involve maintaining the physical location of the files
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Flat File Each file called a flat file, contained and processed information for one specific function, such as accounting or inventory. Programmers used programming languages such as COBOL, C++ to write applications that directly accessed flat files to perform data management services and provide information for users.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Limitations of the File-Based Approach There are following problems associated with the File Based Approach: Separated and Isolated Data Duplication of data Data Dependence Difficulty in representing data from the users view Data Inflexibility Incompatible file formats

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Database Approach In order to remove all the above limitations of the File Based Approach, a new approach was required that must be more effective known as Database approach. A database is a computer based record keeping system whose over all purpose is to record and maintain information. The database is a single, large repository of data, which can be used simultaneously by many departments and users.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

The Database Management System (DBMS) DBMS A database management system is the software system that allows users to define, create and maintain a database and provides controlled access to the data.

A database management system (DBMS) is basically a collection of programs that enables users to store, modify, and extract information from a database as per the requirements. DBMS is an intermediate layer between programs and the data. Programs access the DBMS, which then accesses the data. There are different types of DBMS ranging from small systems that run on personal computers to huge systems that run on mainframes. The following are main examples of database applications:
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Computerized library systems Automated teller machines Flight reservation systems Computerized parts inventory systems

Commercially available Database management systems in the market are dbase, Foxpro, IMS and Oracle. These systems allow users to create, update, and extract information from their databases. Compared to a manual filing system, the biggest advantages to a computerized database system are speed, accuracy, and accessibility.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Components of the DBMS Environment Hardware Software Data Users Procedures

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Hardware

The hardware is the actual computer system used for keeping and accessing the database. Conventional DBMS hardware consists of secondary storage devices, usually hard disks, on which the database physically resides, together with the associated

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Software The software is the actual DBMS. Between the physical database itself (i.e. the data as actually stored) and the users of the system is a layer of software, usually called the Database Management System or DBMS. All requests from users for access to the database are handled by the DBMS. One general function provided by the DBMS is thus the shielding of database users from complex hardware-level detail.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Data The database should contain all the data needed by the organization. One of the major features of databases is that the actual data are separated from the programs that use the data. A database should always be designed, built and populated for a particular audience and for a specific purpose.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Users There are a number of users who can access or retrieve data on demand using the applications and interfaces provided by the DBMS. Each type of user needs different software capabilities. The users of a database system can be classified in the following groups, depending on their degrees of expertise or the mode of their interactions with the DBMS.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

The users can be:

Naive Users Online Users Application Programmers Sophisticated Users DBA

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Advantages of DBMS
Controlling Redundancy

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Integrity can be enforced Integrity of data means that data in database is always accurate, such that incorrect information cannot be stored in database. In order to maintain the integrity of data, some integrity constraints are enforced on the database. A DBMS should provide capabilities for defining and enforcing the constraints. Simplified Approach to DBMS
By Parteek Bhatia

Inconsistency can be avoided When the same data is duplicated and changes are made at one site, which is not propagated to the other site, it gives rise to inconsistency and the two entries regarding the same data will not agree. At such times the data is said to be inconsistent. So if the redundancy is removed chances of having inconsistent data is also removed. Let us again consider the college system and suppose that in case of General_Office file it is indicated that Roll_Number 5 lives in Amritsar but in library file it is indicated that Roll_Number 5 lives in Jalandhar. Then this is a state at which the two entries of the same object do not agree with each other (that is one is updated and other is not). At such time the database is said to be inconsistent.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

In case of DBMS, Roll number and address occurs together only single time in General_Office table. So, it needs single updation and then all other application retrieve the address information from General_Office which is updated so, all application will get the current and latest information by providing single update operation and this single update operation is propagated to the whole database or all other application automatically, this property is called as Propagation of Update.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Data can be shared Providing Backup and Recovery Standards can be enforced Restricting unauthorized access Solving enterprise requirement requirement than individual

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Disadvantages of DBMS Complexity Size Performance Higher impact of a failure Cost of DBMS Additional Hardware costs Cost of Conversion

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Three Level Architecture

An early proposal for a standard terminology and general architecture for database systems was produced in 1971 by the DBTG (Data Base Task Group) appointed by the Conference on Data Systems and Languages (CODASYL, 1971). The DBTG recognized the need for a two level approach with a system view called the schema and user views called subschema. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recognized the need for a three level approach with a system catalog.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

There are following three levels or layers of DBMS architecture:

External Level

Conceptual Level

Internal Level

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Objective of the Three Level Architecture

Each user should be able to access the same data, but have a different customized view of the data. Users interaction with the database should be independent of storage considerations.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

 The Database Administrator (DBA) should be able to change the database storage structures without affecting the users views.

The internal structure of the database should be unaffected by changes to the physical aspects of storage, such as the changeover to a new storage device.

The DBA should be able to change the conceptual structure of the database without affecting all users.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

External Level or View level

It is the users view of the database. This level describes that part of the database that is relevant to each user. External level is the one, which is closest to the end users. This level deals with the way in which individual users view data. Individual users are given different views according to the users requirement. External level is also known as the view level. In addition different views may have different representations of the same data. For example, one user may view dates in the form (day, month, year), while another may view dates as (year, month, day).
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Conceptual Level or Logical level It is the community view of the database. This level describes what data is stored in the database and the relationships among the data. The middle level in the three level architecture is the conceptual level. This level contains the logical structure of the entire database as seen by the DBA. It is a complete view of the data requirements of the organization that is independent of any storage considerations. The conceptual level represents: . All entities, their attributes, and their relationships; The constraints on the data; Security and integrity information.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Internal Level or Storage level It is the physical representation of the database on the computer. This level describes how the data is stored in the database. The internal level is the one that concerns the way the data are physically stored on the hardware. The internal level covers the physical implementation of the database to achieve optimal runtime performance and storage space utilization. It covers the data structures and file organizations used to store data on storage devices. It interfaces with the operating system access methods to place the data on the storage devices, build the indexes, retrieve the data, and so on.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Schema The overall description of the database is called the Database Schema. There are three different types of schema in the database corresponding to each data view of database. In other words, the data views at each of three levels are described by schema. A schema is defined as an outline or a plan that describes the records and relationships existing at the particular level. The External view is described by means of a schema called external schema that correspond to different views of the data. Similarly the Conceptual view is defined by conceptual schema, which describes all the entities, attributes, and relationship together with integrity constraints. Internal View is defined by internal schema, which is a complete description of the internal model, containing definition of stored records, the methods of representation, the data fields, and the indexes used.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Mapping between Views External/Conceptual Mapping: Each external schema is related to the conceptual schema by the external/conceptual mapping. A mapping between the external and conceptual views gives the correspondence among the records and the relationships of the external and conceptual views.. There is a mapping from a particular logical record in the external view to one (or more) conceptual record(s) in the conceptual view. Names of the fields and records, for instance, may be different. A number of conceptual fields can be combined into a single external field, for example, Last_Name and First_Name at the conceptual level but Name at the external level. A given external record could be derived from a number of conceptual records.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Conceptual/Internal Mapping: Conceptual schema is related to the internal schema by the conceptual/internal mapping. This enables the DBMS to find the actual record or combination of records in physical storage that constitute a logical record in conceptual schema. Mapping between the conceptual and the internal levels specifies the method of deriving the conceptual record from the physical database.

Differences between Conceptual/Internal Views Representation of numeric values could be different in the two views.

Representation of string data can be considered by the two views to be coded differently.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Data Independence-Achievement of Layered Architecture of DBMS There are two kinds of data independence: Logical data independence Physical data independence

Logical data independence Logical data independence indicates that the conceptual schema can be changed without affecting the existing external schemas. The change would be absorbed by the mapping between the external and conceptual levels.
Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

Physical data independence Physical data independence indicates that the physical storage structures or devices could be changed without affecting conceptual schema. The change would be absorbed by the mapping between the conceptual and internal levels. Physical data independence is achieved by the presence of the internal level of the database and the mapping or transformation from the conceptual level of the database to the internal level. If there is a need to change the file organization or the type of physical device used as a result of growth in the database or new technology, a change is required in the conceptual/internal mapping between the conceptual and internal levels. The physical data independence criterion requires that the conceptual level does not specify storage structures or the access methods (indexing, hashing etc.) used to retrieve the data from the physical storage medium.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

The Logical data independence is difficult to achieve than physical data independence as it requires the flexibility in the design of database and programmer has to foresee the future requirements or modifications in the design.

Simplified Approach to DBMS By Parteek Bhatia

References
Simplified Approach to DBMS Kalyani Publishers By Parteek Bhatia