Database Management Basics
Database management is a method of managing the information that is used to support a company’s business operations. It involves storing and distributing data it to applications and users making edits as needed, monitoring data changes, and preventing data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is a component of the entire informational infrastructure of a company that assists in decision making as well as corporate growth and compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were developed in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into the information management systems (IMS) which enabled the storage and retrieve large amounts of data for a variety of purposes, ranging from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a collection of tables which organize data according to a certain scheme, like one-to-many relationships. It uses primary keys to identify records and permit cross-references between tables. Each table has a set of fields, called attributes, which provide information about the data entities. The most popular type of database that is currently in use is a relational model, created by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. The design is based on normalizing the data, making it more easy to use. It also makes it easier to update data since it eliminates the need to update several databases.
Most DBMSs are able to support different types of databases and offer different internal and external levels of organization. The internal level focuses on costs, scalability, and other operational issues including the layout of the physical storage. The external level is the representation of the database in user interfaces and applications. It could comprise a mix of different external views that are based on different models of data and could include virtual tables that are calculated with generic data to enhance the performance.