Chapter - One

Introduction To
Database Systems
 Introduction
❖DBMS stands for Database Management
System.
❖DBMS is a software system for creating,
organizing and managing the database.
❖ It provides an environment to the user to
perform operations on the database for
creation, insertion, deletion, updating and
retrieval of data.

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 What is Data?
• A collection of raw facts and figures.
• Raw material that can be processed by any
computing machine.
• Known facts that can be recorded and have an implicit
meaning.
• Data can be represented in the form of:
numbers and words which can be stored in
computer’s language.
i.e. Asif khan, Asad ,001, tigist , Id= Is/1276/2011
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 What is Information?
➢A processed data.
➢Systematic and meaningful form of data.
➢ Knowledge acquired through study or
experience.
➢Information helps human beings in their
decision making.

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 Basic Definitions

• A Database is shared collection of logically related

data (and a description of this data), designed to meet
the information needs of an organization.
• The database contains not only the database itself but
also a complete definition or description of the
database.
• The information stored is called metadata which
describes the structure of the primary database
• Logically related data comprises entities, attributes,
and relationships of an organization's information.

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 What is DBMS ?
➢ A set of programs to access the interrelated data.
➢ DBMS contains information about a particular enterprise.
➢ Computerized record keeping system.
➢ Provides convenient environment to user to perform
operations: Creation, Insertion, Deletion, Updating &
Retrieval of information
Give examples of DBMS
• Access DB ,DB2 (IBM), SQL Server (MS), Oracle, Sybase
MySQL, Postgres, …

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 Types of databases
➢ Traditional database: most of the information that is stored
and accessed is either textual or numeric.
➢ Advances databases
1. Multimedia databases can now store pictures, video
clips, and sound messages.
2. Geographic information systems (GIS) can store and
analyze maps, weather data, and satellite images.
3. Data warehouses and online analytical processing
systems are used in many companies to extract and
analyze useful information from very large databases for
decision making.
4. Real-time and active database technology is used in
controlling industrial and manufacturing processes.
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 Basic database terminologies
➢ Enterprise: An organization: A library, a bank, a university, etc.
➢ Entity: Person, place, thing, or event which is an "object" in the
real world that we are interested in. Eg. Student is an entity
➢ Attribute (Field): A character or group of characters (alphabetic
or numeric), that has a specific meaning. Eg. Name, age,
telephone, grade, sex, etc.
➢ Record: A logically connected set of one or more Attributes that
describe a person, place or thing. (Logically related data)
➢ File: A collection of related records. For example, a file might
contain data about customers; or students of a certain
department in a university. 8
Basic database terminologies…..

• Query: Causes some data to be retrieved

• Application program: accesses the database by
sending queries to DBMS
• Transaction: May cause some data to be read and
some data to be written into the database
• Meta-data : can be defined as data about a data. It
describes the size format and other characteristics of
data

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 Data management Approach

Data management Approach (keeping your data records)

1. Manual Approach
2. File-Based Approach
3. Database Approach

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 Manual Approach
The primitive and traditional way of information handling where
cards and papers are used for the purpose.

➢ It includes intensive human labor

➢ Events and objects are written on files (paper)
➢ Each of the files containing various kinds of information is
labeled and stored in one or more cabinets
➢ The cabinets could be kept in safe places for security purpose
based on the sensitivity of the information contained in it.
➢ Insertion and retrieval is done by searching first for the right
cabinet then for the right file then the information
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 Manual Approach

Limitations with all manual systems

➢ Prone to error
➢ Difficult to update, retrieve, integrate
➢ You have the data but it is difficult to compile the
information
➢ Significant amount of duplication of data
➢ Cross referencing is difficult

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 File-Based Approach

➢ This approach is a decentralized computerized data handling

method which develops a program or a number of programs
for each different application.

➢ Since every application defines and manages its own data, the
system is subjected to serious data duplication problem.

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 File-Based Approach
Limitations of File-Based systems
➢ Data Redundancy (duplication of data)and Inconsistency
•Same data is held by different programs
•Wasted space (Uncontrolled duplication of data)
➢Difficulty in accessing data. E.g. The maximum result in DB
➢ Separation and isolation of data / multiple file and format/
E.g. Gender in file initially written Female & Male in Other file F&M (the
same file in d/f format )
•Each program maintains its own set of data. Users of one
program may be unaware of potentially useful data held by
other programs.
•Special codes for different queries
➢ Poor Security and administration
➢ Integrity problem
➢ Atomicity problem
➢ Concurrent access anomalies 14
 Database Approach
➢ Single repository of data is maintained(centralized)
➢ Data can be shared
➢ Improved data accessibility - By using structured query
languages, the users can easily access data without programming
experience.
➢ Redundancy can be reduced
➢ Inconsistency can be avoided
➢ Integrity can be maintained
➢ Security measures can be enforced
➢ Less Labor
➢ Centralized information control: Since relevant data in the
organization will be stored at one repository, it can be controlled
and managed at the central level.

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 Database Approach

Limitations and risk of database approach

➢ Introduction of new professional and specialized personnel
➢ High cost to be incurred to develop and maintain the system
➢ Complex backup and recovery services from the users
perspective
➢ High impact on the system when failure occurs to the central
system

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 Main Characteristics of Database
Approach
• Self-describing nature of a database system: A DBMS catalog
stores the description of the database. The description is called
meta-data). This allows the DBMS software to work with
different databases.

• Insulation between programs and data: Called program-data

independence. Allows changing data storage structures and
operations without having to change the DBMS access
programs.

• Data Abstraction: A data model is used to hide storage details

and present the users with a conceptual view of the database.

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Main Characteristics of Database Approach….

• Support of multiple views of the data: Each user may see a

different view of the database, which describes only the data of
interest to that user.

• Sharing of data and multiuser transaction processing : allowing a

set of concurrent users to retrieve and to update the database.
Concurrency control within the DBMS guarantees that each
transaction is correctly executed or completely aborted.

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 DBMS
It is a general-purpose software system that facilitates the
following processes.

• Defining a database involves specifying the data types,

structures, and constraints for the data to be stored in the
database.

• Constructing the database is the process of storing the data

itself on some storage medium.

• Manipulating a database includes querying the database to

retrieve data, updating the database and generating reports
from the data.

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 DBMS….

• Sharing a database allows multiple users and programs to

access the database concurrently.

• Protection includes system protection against hardware or

software malfunction (or crashes), and security protection
against unauthorized or malicious access.

• Maintaining is making the database system to evolve as

requirements change over time.

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 Advantages of DBMS
➢ Controlling redundancy in data storage
➢ Sharing of data among multiple users.
➢ Restricting unauthorized access to data.
➢ Providing persistent storage for program Objects
➢ Providing Storage Structures for efficient Query Processing
➢ Providing backup and recovery services.
➢ Providing multiple interfaces to different classes of users.
➢ Representing complex relationships among data.
➢ Enforcing integrity constraints on the database.
➢ Drawing Inferences and Actions using rules
➢ Potential for enforcing standards
➢ Reduced application development time
➢ Flexibility to change data structures
➢ Availability of up-to-date information

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 Disadvantages of DBMS

➢ The overhead costs of hardware, software, professionals and

training
➢ Overhead for providing security, concurrency control,
recovery, and integrity functions
➢ High impact of failure
➢ Performance problem(response time problem) due to high
memory space consumption

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 Users in database systems
• Database Administrator is responsible for managing resources
(the database itself, the DBMS and Related software) and
authorizing access to the database
• Database Designer is responsible for identifying the data to be
stored in the database choosing appropriate structures to
represent and store this data.
• System Analysts and Application Programmers (Software
Engineers)
1. System analysts: determine the requirements of end users
2. Application programmers: implement these specifications
as programs

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 Users in database systems
• End Users: End users are the people whose jobs require access
to the database for querying, updating, and generating reports;
the database primarily exists for their use.
1. Casual end users: occasionally access the database, but they
may need different information each time.
2. Naive or parametric end users: make up a sizable portion of
database end users. Their main job function revolves around
constantly querying and updating the database,
3. Sophisticated end users: familiarize themselves with the
facilities of the DBMS so as to implement their applications
to meet their complex requirements.
4. Stand-alone users: maintain personal databases by using
ready-made program packages

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