Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University

College of Computer and Information Sciences

Computer Science Department
CS370: Introduction to database

Chapter 1
Database and Database Users

Prepared by Dr. Abeer Al-Nafjan

Outline

 Types of Databases and Database Applications

 Basic Definitions
 Typical DBMS Functionality
 File-Based Systems (FBS)
 Main Characteristics of the Database Approach
 Database Users
 Advantages of Using the DBMS Approach
 When Not to Use a DBMS

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Database concepts

 Data is a meaningless static value.

What does 3421 means?

 Information is the data you process in a manner that makes it meaningful.

Information can be provided only if proper data exists.

 Database (DB) is a collection of related data. Can be generated & maintained

manually or automatically.

Data is what you store in database.

Information is what you retrieve from a database.

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Database concepts

INPUT OUTPUT
PROCESS
Data Information

Storage

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Types of Databases and Database Applications

 Traditional Applications:
 Numeric and Textual Databases

 More Recent Applications:

 Multimedia Databases
 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
 Data Warehouses
 Real-time and Active Databases
 Many other applications

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Basic Definitions

 Database (DB):
 A collection of related data.
 Database Management System (DBMS):
 A software package/ system to facilitate the creation and maintenance of a
computerized database.
 Database Application:
 A collection of data and the programs that allow the manipulation of
these data to meet the information needs of an enterprise.
 Database System (DBS):
 The DBMS software together with the data itself. Sometimes, the
applications are also included.

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 A simplified database system (DBS) environment

Database Application: A collection

of data and the programs that allow
the manipulation of these data to
meet the information needs of an
enterprise.

Database System
Database Management System
(DBS): The DBMS
(DBMS): A software package/
software together
system to facilitate the creation and
with the data
maintenance of a computerized
itself. Sometimes,
database.
the applications
are also included.

Database (DB): A collection of related data.

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Database Management System (DBMS)

 Defining a database
 Specify the data types, structures, and constraints of the data to be stored
 Meta-data
 Database definition or descriptive information
 Stored by the DBMS in the form of a database catalog or dictionary
 Manipulating a database
 Query and update the database mini-world
 Generate reports
 Sharing a database
 Allow multiple users and programs to access the database simultaneously

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Database Management System (DBMS)

 Query
 Causes some data to be retrieved
 Transaction
 May cause some data to be read and some data to be written into
the database
 Protection includes:
 System protection
 Security protection
 Maintain the database system
 Allow the system to evolve as requirements change over time

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Database Management System (DBMS)

Major Relational DBMS vendors/products

 Paradox by Corel
 dBase, Clipper
 FoxPro, Access & SQL Server by MS
 MySQL
 DB2 by IBM
 Oracle, Sybase, Informix

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An Example

 UNIVERSITY database
 Information concerning students, courses, and grades in a
university environment
 Data records
 STUDENT
 COURSE
 SECTION
 GRADE_REPORT
 PREREQUISITE

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An Example (cont'd.)

 Specify structure of records of each file by specifying data

type for each data element
 String of alphabetic characters
 Integer
 etc.

 Construct UNIVERSITY database

 Store data to represent each student, course, section, grade
report, and prerequisite as a record in appropriate file
 Relationships among the records
 Manipulation involves querying and updating

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An Example (cont'd.)

 Examples of queries:
 Retrieve the transcript
 List the names of students who took the section of the ‘Database’
course offered in fall 2008 and their grades in that section
 List the prerequisites of the ‘Database’ course
 Examples of updates:
 Change the class of ‘Smith’ to sophomore
 Create a new section for the ‘Database’ course for this semester
 Enter a grade of ‘A’ for ‘Smith’ in the ‘Database’ section of last
semester

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14
File-Based Systems (FBS)
In order to understand the database approach we need to understand the file-based
system approach.

FBS is a collection of application programs that perform tasks

where each program defines and manages its own data.

File
Data handling
User 1 Entry
File Def
Application Program 1 File1

File
Data handling
User 2 Entry
File Def
Application Program 2 File 2

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File-Based Systems (FBS)

 Major Disadvantages of FBS:

 Data Redundancy & Inconsistency
 Data Dependence
 Incompatible File Format
 Fixed Queries/Proliferation of application programs

 The limitations of the FBS approach attributed to two factors:

 The definition of data is embedded in the application programs
 There is no control over the access & manipulation of data beyond
the imposed by the application program

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 Database Systems (DBS)

 DBS is a single large repository of data, defined once & used by

many application programs.

Data
User 1 Entry
Application Program 1
DBMS
Data Database
User 2 Entry

Application Program 2

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Main Characteristics of the DB Approach

 Self-describing nature of a database system:

 A DBMS catalog stores the description of a particular database (e.g. data
structures, types, and constraints)
 The description is called meta-data.
 This allows the DBMS software to work with different database applications.
 Insulation between programs and data:
 Called program-data independence: Allows changing data structures and
storage organization 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 the DB 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 multi-user transaction processing:

 Allowing a set of concurrent users to retrieve from and to update the database.
 Concurrency control within the DBMS guarantees that each transaction is
correctly executed or aborted
 OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is a major part of database applications.
This allows hundreds of concurrent transactions to execute per second.

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Example of a simple
database

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Example of a
simplified database
catalog

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Main Characteristics of the DB Approach

View 1 View 2

Staff_No FName LName Age Salary Staff_No LName Bno

Staff_No FName LName DOB Salary Bno

DBS Support of Multiple Views of Data

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Database Users

Users may be divided into those who actually use and control the content
and their jobs involve the day-to-day use of large database; called “Actors
on the Scene”.

And others who work to maintain the database system environment but
who are not actively interested in the database itself; called “Workers
Behind the Scene”.

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 • Identifying the data to be stored
• Choosing appropriate structures to represent and Determine
store this data Communicate requirements
of end users

User
Procedure
Write Requirement Write

Implement these DB Designer

specifications as System Analyst
programs
People whose
jobs require Application Design
access to the programmer DB administrator
database Program Manage
DBA

App • Authorizing access to

DBMS
Use Program the database
• Coordinating and
Naïve End User monitoring its use
• Acquiring software and
hardware resources
DB
Use
Sophisticated End User H/W

Actors on the Scene 24

Database Users - Actors on the scene

 Database administrators: responsible for authorizing access to the database,

for coordinating and monitoring its use, acquiring software and hardware
resources as needed. The DBA is accountable for problems such as poor system
response time.
 Software Engineers
 System Analyst: determine the requirements of end users & develop system
specifications.
 Application programmer: implement the specifications as programs, test, debug,
document, and maintain.
 Database Designers: responsible to define the content, the structure, the
constraints, and functions or transactions against the database. They must
communicate with the end-users and understand their needs.
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 Database Users - Actors on the scene

 End-users: they use the data for queries, reports and some of them actually
update the database content.
 Casual : Access database occasionally when needed. Example is a Manger
 Naïve or Parametric : They make up a large section of the end-user population.
They use previously well-defined functions in the form of “canned transactions”
against the database. Examples are bank-tellers or reservation clerks who do this
activity for an entire shift of operations.
 Sophisticated : These include business analysts, scientists, engineers, others
thoroughly familiar with the DBMS capabilities. Many use tools in the form of
software packages that work closely with the stored database.
 Stand-alone : Mostly maintain personal databases using ready-to-use packaged
applications. Example is a user that maintains an address book.

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Database Users - Worker behind the scene

 DBMS designer & Implementers: Are persons who design and implement the
DBMS modules and interfaces as a software package.

 Tool Developer: Are persons who design and implement tools- the software
packages that facilitate database system design and use and that help
improve performance.

 Operators & Maintenance Personnel: Are the system administration

personnel who are responsible for the actual running and maintenance of
the hardware and software environment for database system.

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Advantages of Using the DBMS Approach

1. Controlling redundancy in data storage and in development

and maintenance efforts.
2. Restricting unauthorized access to data.
3. Providing persistent storage for program Objects
4. Providing Storage Structures for efficient Query Processing
5. Providing backup and recovery services.
6. Providing multiple interfaces to different classes of users.
7. Representing complex relationships among data.
8. Enforcing integrity constraints on the database.
9. Drawing Inferences and Actions using rules

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Additional Implications of Using the Database
Approach
 Potential for enforcing standards: this is very crucial for the success of
database applications in large organizations Standards refer to data item
names, display formats, screens, report structures, meta-data (description
of data) etc.
 Reduced application development time: incremental time to add each new
application is reduced.
 Flexibility to change data structures: database structure may evolve as new
requirements are defined.
 Availability of up-to-date information – very important for on-line
transaction systems such as airline, hotel, car reservations.
 Economies of scale: by consolidating data and applications across
departments wasteful overlap of resources and personnel can be avoided.
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Extending Database Capabilities

New functionality is being added to DBMSs in the following areas:

 Scientific Applications
 Image Storage and Management
 Audio and Video data management
 Data Mining
 Spatial data management
 Time Series and Historical Data Management

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When Not to Use a DBMS
 Main inhibitors (costs) of using a DBMS:
 High initial investment and possible need for additional hardware, software, and
training.
 Overhead for providing generality, security, concurrency control, recovery, and
integrity functions.
 When a DBMS may be unnecessary (use regular files):
 If the database and applications are simple, well defined, and not expected to change.
 If there are stringent real-time requirements that may not be met because of DBMS
overhead.
 Embedded systems with limited storage capacity.
 If access to data by multiple users is not required.

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Summary
 Database (DB)
 Database Management System (DBMS)
 Database Application
 Database System (DBS)
 File-Based System Approach Vs. Database System Approach

 Characteristics of the DB Approach

 Database Users
 Advantages of Using the DB Approach

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