Database

Management
Systems

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Learner Outcomes:

Upon successful completion, learners should be

able to:
 explain the importance of database
management systems (DBMS)
 describe features common to most DBMS

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Exercise - Label the Diagram
Database
Record
Database Administrator
Field
Table
Database Management System
Primary key
Character

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What is a DBMS?
 A database management system is
complex software that constructs and
maintains a database.
 It is application software that allows
creation, access, and management of a
database
 List some examples

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Examples of DBMSes
 Microsoft Access
 Oracle
 MySQL
 DB2
 SQL Server
 Visual Foxpro

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Features common to most DBMSes
 Character
 Field
 Data type
 Record
 Primary key
 Foreign key
 Table
 Form
 Query
 Report
 Backup
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What is a character?
 A single byte which represents a number,
letter, punctuation mark or other symbol

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What is a field?
 A characteristic of an entity
 An entity is any person, place or thing that we capture
data on.
 All fields must have a field/data type (give examples)
 Fields can have field properties

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What is a primary key?
 A field or group of fields that uniquely identify a record
 Must have a value (cannot be null)
 Links to foreign key of another table
 Give some examples of fields that are unique

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Examples of fields that are unique
 TRN
 Student id number
 Employee id number
 License plate number
 Passport number
 NIS number
 Chassis number
 Engine number
 Part number
 Reference number
 International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
 Bar code
 Department id

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What is a foreign key?
 The primary key of one entity that is placed in
a second entity for the purpose of accessing
the first entity.
 In other words, it is used to create
relationships or link tables.

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What is a record?
 A group of related fields about a particular entity.
 It contains information about a given person, place,
event or thing

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What is a table?
 A group of related records
 It captures all of the records of a particular type of
entity
 A table structure is made up of fields, data/field
types, field descriptions, primary key, field
properties.

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What is a database?
 A group of related tables
 An organized collection of data

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Examples of databases in society
 Common examples of databases in society
include:
 Payroll, Employee data, Inventory
management/Stock, Sales, Customer data,
Supplier data, Library book management,
Banking, Student record keeping, Hotel guest list
etc.
 In other words, every type of information system
has a database to store the data.
 Now you know why a DBMS is important.

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Functions of a DBMS
 Data dictionary
 Retrieval and maintenance
 Query
 Forms
 Reports
 Security
 Backup & Recovery

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A Query (showing criteria)
 A request for data from a database. Usually the
request is to retrieve data based on
criteria/conditions; however, data can also be
manipulated using queries.

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A Form
 A form is a database object that you can use to enter, edit, or
display data from a table or a query. You can use forms to
control access to data, such as which fields of data are
displayed.

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A Report
 A database report is the formatted result of database
queries and contains useful data for decision-making and
analysis. Most good business applications contain a built-in
reporting tool; this is simply a front-end interface that
calls or runs back-end database queries that are
formatted for easy application usage.

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Advantages of a DBMS
 Less data redundancy
 Standardization
 Better/improved data integrity
 Shared data
 Easier and Faster access/retrieval
 Security
 Availability
 Extensibility

 Again, having a DBMS is very important

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Disadvantages of a DBMS

 More memory, storage, processing power

 Inconsistencies
 Complexity
 Breach of confidentiality

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Payroll system database structure
 Employee (TRN, Fname, Lname, DOB, Addr1,
Addr2, Tel, Sex, JobCode)
 Jobs (JobCode, JobDescription, Salary)
 Hours Worked (TRN, Date, TimeIn, TimeOut)

Exercise: Use the example of the Jobs table

above to create the table structure for the
Employee table
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Exercise: Design table structures for
the following Information Systems
 Library management
 Hotel management
 Doctor office management
 Banking
 Inventory management

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Practice questions

 1. Which of the following is best

example of a primary key?
A. Gender
B. Date of birth
C. First name
D. NIS number

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 2. John’s name, id number and phone
number together create his _______.
A. Database
B. Field
C. Record
D. Table

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 3. All of the following are examples of
DBMS’s EXCEPT:
A. MS-Access
B. Oracle
C. MS-Word
D. DB2

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 4. Which of the following is an
advantage of a DBMS?
A. Requires less memory
B. Improved data integrity
C. Increased programming time
D. More data redundancy

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 5. In which category would you place
MS-Access?
A. System software
B. Application software
C. Operating System
D. Utility

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 6. Software which constructs and maintains
a database in a controlled way is:
A. Database
B. Recording
C. DBMS
D. MS-Office

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 7. Which data type would be most
appropriate for your address?
A. Text
B. Number
C. Yes/No
D. Date/Time

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 8. Which of the following is NOT TRUE
about primary keys?
A. A primary key can be made up of more
than one field
B. A primary key is a unique identifier
C. A primary key allows NULL values
D. A primary key is used to relate tables to
each other

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