COURSE CODE: BES328 SEA324

COURSE TITLE: DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)

Course outline • Describe Database users including data base

1.0 Introduction administrator
1.1 Database • Describe data models, schemas and instances.
1.2 Data Processing Vs. Data Management System • Describe Data Languages Manipulation and directory
1.3 File Oriented Approach
1.4 Database Oriented Approach to Data Management File manipulation –Sorting, Searching, Merging, techniques
1.5 Characteristics of Database and procedure. Common structure, programme libraries
1.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of a DBMS utilities and support software; file maintenance, data
1.7 collection and coding, dealing –completeness, range,
consistency, case studies using SPSS or PSATAT package,
1.8 Data Models
1.9 Database Languages
1.9 Data Dictionary
1.11 Database Administrators and Database Users
1.12 DBMS Architecture and Data Independence
1.13 Types of Database System
1.14 Summary
1.15 keywords
1.16 Self Assessment Questions (SAQ)
1.17 References/Suggested Readings

1.0 Objectives
At the end of this chapter the reader will be able to:
• Distinguish between data and information and
Knowledge
• Distinguish between file processing system and DBMS
• Describe DBMS its advantages and disadvantages

Introduction
You might be surprised to learn that many businesses don't have timely, accurate, or relevant information
because the data in their information systems have been poorly organized and maintained. That's why data
management is so essential.
An effective information system provides users with accurate, timely, and relevant information.
Accurate information is free of errors. Information is timely when it is available to decision makers when
it is needed. Information is relevant when it is useful and appropriate for the types of work and decisions
that require it. To understand the problem, let's look at how information systems arrange data in computer
files and traditional methods of file management.

The world of data is constantly changing and evolving every second. (By accurately recording data,
storing, updating and tracking them on an efficient and regular basis). Data means known facts that can be
recorded and that have implicit meaning. For example, consider the names, telephone numbers, and
addresses of the people you know. You may have recorded this data in an indexed address book, or you
may have stored it on a diskette, using a personal computer and software such as DBASE IV or V,
Microsoft ACCESS, or EXCEL. A datum – a unit of data – is a symbol or a set of symbols which is used
to represent something. This relationship between symbols and what they represent is the essence of what
we mean by information. Hence, information is interpreted data – data supplied with semantics.
Knowledge refers to the practical use of information. While information can be transported, stored or
shared without many difficulties the same cannot be said about knowledge. Knowledge necessarily
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involves a personal experience. Referring back to the scientific experiment, a third person reading the
results will have information about it, while the person who conducted the experiment personally will
have knowledge about it.

FILE ORGANIZATION TERMS AND CONCEPTS

A computer system organizes data in a hierarchically that starts with bits and bytes and progresses to fields,
records, files, and databases (see Figure 1-1). A bit represents the smallest unit of data a computer can handle. A
group of bits, called a byte, represents a single character, which can be a letter, a number, or another symbol. A
grouping of characters into a word, a group of words, or a complete number (such as a person’s name of age)
is called a field. A group of related fields, such as the student’s name, the course taken, the date and the
grade, comprises a record; a group of records of the same type is called a file, and related files can be
organized into database.

THE DATA HIERARCHY

Student Database

Bit 0
A computer system organizes data in a hierarchy that starts with the bit, which represents either a 0 or a 1. Bits can
be grouped to form a byte to represent one character, number, or symbol. Bytes can be grouped to form a field, and
related fields can be grouped to form a record. Related records can be collected to form a file, and related files can
be organized into database.

For example, the records in Figure 1-1 could constitute a student course file. A group of related files makes up a
database. The student course file illustrated in Figure 1-1 could be grouped with files on students' personal histories (Bio
data) and financial backgrounds to create a student database.
A record describes an entity. An entity is anything, a person, place, thing, or event on which we store and maintain
information. Each characteristic or quality describing a particular entity is called an attribute. For example, Student
ID/ Matric no, course code, course title, Date/ session, and Grade are attributes of the entity COURSE. The specific
values that these attributes can have are found in the fields of the record describing the entity COURSE
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 1.2 Data Processing Vs. Data Management Systems
Although Data Processing and Data Management Systems both refer to functions that take raw data and transform it
into usable information, the usage of the terms is very different. Data Processing is the term generally used to
describe the procedure or system that transforms data from state to useful information. In other words, data
processing is the manipulation of data, the retention of data and its subsequent retrieval. It is a process where large
volumes of raw transaction data fed into programs that update a master file, with fixed-format reports written to
paper.
The term Data Management Systems refers to an expansion of this concept, where the raw data, previously copied
manually from paper to punched cards, and later into data-entry terminals, is now fed into the system from a variety
of sources, including ATMs, EFT, and direct customer entry through the Internet.
The master file concept has been largely displaced by database management systems, and static reporting replaced
or augmented by ad-hoc reporting and direct inquiry, including downloading of data by customers. The ubiquity
(quality of being) of the Internet and the Personal Computer has been the driving force in the transformation of Data
Processing to the more global concept of Data Management Systems.

1.3 Flat File Oriented Approach

The earliest business computer systems were used to process business records and produce information. They were
generally faster and more accurate than equivalent manual systems. These systems stored groups of records in
separate files, and so they were called file processing systems. In a typical file processing systems, each department
has its own files, designed specifically for those applications.
In most organizations, systems tended to grow independently without a company-wide plan. Accounting, finance,
manufacturing, human resources, Sales and Marketing all developed their own systems and data files. Figure 1-2
illustrates the traditional approach to information processing

FIGURE 1,2 TRADITIONAL Flat FILE PROCESSING

t\\
e

ACCOUNTING
AND FIN

SALES AND MARKETING

ABED
HUMAN /
RESOURCES

MANUFAC1 UniNG
3
Derivative f

The use of a traditional approach to file processing encourages each functional area in a corporation to develop
specialized applications. Each application requires a unique data file that is likely to be a subset of the master file. These
subsets of the master file lead to data redundancy and inconsistency, processing inflexibility, and wasted storage
resources.
Each application, of course, required its own files and its own computer program to operate. For example,
the human resources functional area might have a personnel master file, a payroll file, a medical insurance file, a
pension file a mailing list file, and so forth until tens, perhaps hundreds, of files and program existed. In the
company as a whole, this process led to multiple master files created, maintained, and operated by separate divisions
or departments. As this process goes on for 5 or 10 years, the organization is saddled with hundreds of programs and
applications that are very difficult to maintain and manage. The resulting problems are data redundancy and
inconsistency, program-data dependence, inflexibility, poor data security, and an inability to share data among
applications.

PROBLEMS WITH THE TRADITIONAL Flat FILE ENVIRONMENT

Keeping organizational information in a file-processing system has a number of major disadvantages:

Data Redundancy and Inconsistency

Data redundancy is the presence of duplicate data in multiple data files so that the same data are stored in more
than place or location. Data redundancy occurs when different groups in an organization independently collect
the same piece of data and stores it independently of each other. Data redundancy wastes storage resources and
also leads to data inconsistency, where the same attribute may have different values. For example, in
instance of the entity COURSE illustrated in Figure 1-1, the Date may be updated in some systems but not in
others. The same attribute, Student ID, may also have different names in different systems throughout the
organization. Some systems might use Matric no and others might use names, for example.

Additional confusion might result from using different coding systems to represent values for an attribute. For
instance, the sales, inventory, and manufacturing systems of a clothing retailer might use different codes to represent
clothing size. One System might represent clothing size as "Extra-large," whereas another might use te code "XL"
for the same purpose. The resulting confusion would make it difficult for companies to create customer relationship
management, supply chain management, or enterprise systems that integrate data from different sources.

Program-Data Dependence

Program-data dependence refers to the coupling of data stored in files and the specific programs required to update
and maintain those files such that changes in programs require changes to the data. Every traditional computer program
has to describe the location and nature of the data with which it works. In a Traditional file environment, any change in
a software program could require a change in the data accessed by that program. One program might be modified from a
five-digit to a nine-digit ZIP code. If the original data file were changed from five-digit to nine-digit ZIP codes, then other
programs that required the five-digit ZIP code would no longer work properly. Such changes could cost millions of naira
to implement properly.

Lack of F l e x i b i l i t y

A traditional file system can deliver routine scheduled reports after extensive programming efforts, but it cannot
deliver ad hoc reports or respond to unanticipated information requirements in a timely fashion. The information
required by ad hoc requests is somewhere in the system but may be too expensive to retrieve. Several programmers
might have to work for weeks to put together the required data items in a new file.
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Poor Security

Because there is little control or management of data, access to and dissemination of information may be out of
control. Management may have no way of knowing who is accessing or even making changes to the organization’s
data.

Lack of Data Sharing and Availability

Because pieces of information in different files and different parts of the organization cannot be related to one
another, it is virtually impossible for information to be shared or accessed in a timely manner. Information cannot
flow freely across different functional areas or different parts of the organization. If users find different values of the
same piece of Information in two different systems, they may not want to use these systems because they cannot trust
tihe accuracy of their data.

It may lead to data inconsistency; that is, the various copies of the same data may no longer agree. For example, a
changed customer address may be reflected in savings-account records but not elsewhere in the system.

Difficulty in accessing data.

The point here is that conventional file-processing environments do not allow needed data to be retrieved in a
convenient and efficient manner. More responsive data-retrieval systems are required for general use.

Data isolation. Because data are scattered in various files, and files may be in different formats, writing new
application programs to retrieve the appropriate data is difficult.

Integrity problems.

THE DATABASE APPROACH TO DATA MANAGEMENT

Database technology cuts through many of the problems of traditional file organization. A more rigorous definition of
a database is a collection of data organized to serve many applications efficiently by centralizing the data and
controlling redundant data. Rather than storing data in separate files for each application, data are stored so as to appear
to users as being stored in only one location. A single database services multiple applications. For example, instead of a
corporation storing employee data in separate information systems and separate file for personnel, payroll, and
benefits, the corporation could create a single common human resources database.
A database is a well-structured repository for data. The overall purpose of such a repository is to maintain data for
some set of organizational objectives. Most database systems are built to retain the data required for the running of
the day-to-day activities of an organization.
Hence, in a university, a database system will be needed for such activity as recording the continuous assessment of
students’ examination scores, Bio-data, Jamb result, transcripts records. etc. A database is a collection of data
stored in a standardized format, designed to be shared by multiple users.

A database (DB), in the most general sense, is an organized collection of related data. In other words, a database is
used by an organization as a method of storing, managing and retrieving data and meaningful information.

Formally, a "database" refers to a set of related data and the way it is organized. Access to this data is usually
provided by a "database management system" (DBMS) consisting of an integrated set of computer software that
allows users to interact with one or more databases and provides access to all of the data contained in the database
(although restrictions may exist that limit access to particular data).

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DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Database Management System (also known as DBMS) is a software for storing and retrieving users' data by
considering appropriate security measures. It allows users to create their own databases as per their requirement.

It consists of a group of programs which manipulate the database and provide an interface between the databases. It
includes the user of the database and other application programs.

A database management system is an organized set of facilities for accessing and maintaining one or more database.
A DBMS is a shell which surrounds a database and through which all interactions take place within the database.
A database management system (DBMS) is software that defines a database, stores the data, support a
query language, produce reports, and create data entry screen.
A database management system (DBMS) is a software that permits an organization to centralize data, manage
them efficiently, and provide access to the stored data by application programs.
The DBMS acts as an interface between application programs and the physical data files. When the application
program calls for a data item, such as gross pay, the DBMS finds this item in the database and presents it to the
application program. Using traditional data files, the programmer would have to specify the size and format of each
data element used in the program and then tell the computer where they were located.

The DBMS relieves the programmer or end user from the task of understanding where and how the data are actually
stored by separating the logical and physical views of the data. The logical view presents data as they would be
perceived by end users or business specialists; whereas the physical view shows how data are
actually organized and structured on physical storage media.

The database management software makes the physical database available for different logical views required by
users. For example, for the human resources database illustrated in Figure 1.3, a benefits specialist might require a view
consisting of the employee's name, serial security number, and health insurance coverage. A payroll department
member might need data such as the employee’s name, social security number, gross pay and net pay. The data for all
those views are stored in a single database, where they can be more easily -managed by the organization. DBMS is a
complex software designed to construct, expand, control and interface between the user and the
databased. it serves as security to database, preventing unauthorized access to Database

There are five major components in a database environment:

a) Data: The data is a collection of facts, typically related.
b) Hardware: The hard ware is the physical devices in the database environment e.g., laptop, desktop, printer
etc.
c) Software: This includes the Operating systems, database management systems and any other related
applications.
d) People: people in the database environment are the system administrator, database administrator(DBA),
programmers and end users
e) Procedures ... Procedures are the instructions and rules for the database.

The DBMS interactions centered around 3 main groups:

1. File Maintenance Adding new files to the database; Removing files from the database; Updating data in existing
files
(2) Information Retrieval: Extracting data from existing file; Extracting data for use by application programs;
(3) Database Control: Creating and monitoring users of database; Restricting access to files in the database;
Monitoring the performance of database.

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 DBMS vs. Flat File
DBMS Flat File Management System

Multi-user access It does not support multi-user access

Design to fulfil the need for small and large It is only limited to smaller DBMS
businesses system.
Remove redundancy and Integrity Redundancy and Integrity issues
Expensive. But in the long term Total Cost of
It's cheaper
Ownership is cheap
Easy to implement complicated transactions No support for complicated transactions

Figure 1-3 HUMAN RESOURCES DATABASE WITH MULTIPLE VIEWS

SSN Health Cam Benefit

View

Name
SSN
Cross Pay
Nat-Pay
Payroll View
Human Resources

A single human resources, database provides many different views of data, depending on the information
requirements of the user, illustrated here are two possible views, one of interest to a benefits specialist and one of
interest to a member of the company's payroll department.

1.5 Characteristics of Database

HOW A DBMS SOLVES THE PROBLEMS OF THE TRADITIONAL FILE ENVIRONMENT

A DBMS reduces data redundancy and inconsistency by minimizing isolated files in which the same data are
repeated. The DBMS may not enable the organization to eliminate data redundancy entirely, but it can help control
redundancy. Even if the organization maintains some redundant data, using a DBMS eliminates data
inconsistency because the DBMS can help the organization ensure that every occurrence of redundant data has the
same values. The DBMS uncouples programs and data, enabling data to stand on their own. Access and availability
of information will be increased and program development and maintenance costs reduced because users
and programmers can perform ad hoc queries of data in the database. The DBMS enables the organization to
centrally manage data, their use, and security.

Other characteristic features are discussed in detail below:

1. Concurrent Use; Data Sharing
A database system allows several users to access the database concurrently. Answering different questions from
different users with the same (base) data is a central aspect of an information system. Such concurrent use of data
increases the economy of a system. Data stored in a database is not usually held solely for the use of one person. A
data base is normally expected to be accessible to more than one authorized persons.
Hence, a student’s database might be accessible to members of academic and administrative staff.

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An example for concurrent use is the travel database of a bigger travel agency. The employees of different branches
can access the database concurrently and book journeys for their clients. Each travel agent sees on his interface if
there are still seats available for a specific journey or if it is already fully booked.
2 Structured and Described Data
A fundamental feature of the database approach is that the database system does not only contain the data but also
the complete definition and description of these data. These descriptions are basically details about the extent, the
structure, the type and the format of all data and, additionally, the relationship between the data. This kind of stored
data is called metadata ("data about data").
3 Separation of Data and Applications
The feature, structured of data and structure of a database is described through metadata which is also stored in the
database. An application software does not need any knowledge about the physical data storage like encoding,
format, storage place, etc. It only communicates with the management system of a database (DBMS) via a
standardised interface with the help of a standardised language like SQL. The access to the data and the metadata is
entirely done by the DBMS. In this way all the applications can be totally separated from the data. Therefore
database internal reorganisations or improvement of efficiency do not have any influence on the application
software.
4 Data Integrity
Data integrity is a byword for the quality and the reliability of the data of a database system. In a broader sense data
integrity includes also the protection of the database from unauthorised access (confidentiality) and unauthorised
changes. Data reflect facts of the real world. Another responsibility arising as a result of shared data is that a
database should display integrity.

5 Transactions
A transaction is a bundle of actions which are done within a database to bring it from one consistent state to a new
consistent state. In between the data are inevitable inconsistent. A transaction is atomic what means that it cannot be
divided up any further. Within a transaction all or none of the actions need to be carried out. Doing only a part of
the actions would lead to an inconsistent database state. One example of a transaction is the transfer of an amount of
money from one bank account to another. The debit of the money from one account and the credit of it to another
account makes together a consistent transaction. This transaction is also atomic. The debit or credit alone would
both lead to an inconsistent state. After finishing the transaction (debit and credit) the changes to both accounts
become persistent and the one who gave the money has now less money on his account while the receiver has now a
higher balance.
6 Data Persistence
Data persistence means that in a DBMS all data is maintained as long as it is not deleted explicitly. The life span of
data needs to be determined directly or indirectly be the user and must not be dependent on system features.
Additionally data once stored in a database must not be lost. Changes of a database which are done by a transaction
are persistent. When a transaction is finished even a system crash cannot put the data in danger.
7 Data Integration
Shared data brings numerous advantages to the organization. Such advantages, however, only result if database is
treated responsibly. One major responsibility of database usage is to ensure that data is integrated.
Data Security
One of the ways of ensuring data security is by restricting access to the database. The main way this is done in
contemporary database systems is by defining in some detail a set of authorized users of the database. For instance,
a secure system would be one where the ICT department has access to information used for collection of students’
fees, or registration but is prohibited from changing the scores of a given students.

· Provides security and removes redundancy

· Self-describing nature of a database system
· Insulation between programs and data abstraction
· Support of multiple views of the data
· Sharing of data and multiuser transaction processing
· DBMS allows entities and relations among them to form tables.

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· It follows the ACID concept (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability).
· DBMS supports multi-user environment that allows users to access and rnanipulate data in parallel.

1.8 Database Model

Data Models
Modeling means to represent the real world
Why data modeling?
Underlying the structure of a database is the data model. Data model is a collection of conceptual tools for
describing data, data relationships, data semantics, and consistency constraints. It provides a way to describe the
design of a database at the logical level. It represents only the necessary elements; it focuses on the use of the
elements; It represent the relationships between selected elements
Purpose of data modeling:
a. For efficient computerization;
a. Reduce data redundancy b) Disk space problem c) Volume of data transfer
b. Guaranty data integrity; Valid information irrespective of context e.g. student information must be coherent;
either in dept or at the admission office
c. Describing the objects for documentation
Describe the computed elements;
Technical notice; for the programmer; for the system designer Users’ notices: for the end user

We shall examine four major database models:

a.) Relational Database

Contemporary DBMS use different database models to keep track of entities, attributes, and relationships. The most
popular type of DBMS today for PCs as well as for larger computers and mainframes is the Relational DBMS.
Relational databases represent data as a two-dimensional tables of data (called relations) consisting of
columns and rows. Tables may be referred to as files. Each table contains data on an entity and attributes. A
relation is also called an entity or record. A record is made up of related fields that are uniquely identified
by field name also referred to as data element or attributes. The fields are used to store data containing
values relating to a particular relation which may be employees or student registration records.
Microsoft Access is a relational DBMS for desktop system, whereas DB2, Oracle Database, and Microsoft SQL
Server are relational DBMS for large mainframes.

Example
Let’s look at how a relational database organizes data about Suppliers and Spare part. The database has a separate
table for the entity SUPPLIER and a table for entity SPARE PART. Each table consist of a grid of columns and
rows of data. Each individual element of data for each entity is stored as a separate field, and each field represents
an attribute for that entity. Fields in a relational database are also called columns. For the entity SUPPLIER,
the supplier identification number, name, street, city, state, and ZIP code are stored as separate fields within the
SUPPLIER table and each field represents an attribute for the entity SUPPLIER.

The actual information about a single supplier that resides in a table is called a row. Rows are commonly referred
to as records, or in very technical terms, as tuples. Data for the entity SPARE-PART have their own separate table.
The field for Supplier-Number in the SUPPLIER table uniquely identifies each record so that the record can be
retrieved, updated, or sorted and it is called a key field. Each table in a relational database has one field that
is designated as its primary key. This key field is the unique identifier for all the information in any row of the
table and this primary key cannot be- duplicated

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RELATIONAL DATABASE TABLES
SUPPLIER COLUMNS (Attributes, Fields) Row(Record) Tuples

SUPPLIER_ SUPPLIER SUPPLIER_STR SUPPLI SUPPLIER SUPPLIER_

Number NAME EET ER_CIT _STATE PHONE
CODE Y
8259 CBM Inc No 1, Ijagun Rd IJEBU_O OGUN 080224522
8261 Brisco R. Molds DE
127 Allen Avenue IKEJA LAGOS 080349345

8263 Jackson 9 off Ondo Rd AKURE ONDO 08056723

8444 Components
Bryant 43 Akintola Rd OGBOM OYO 08011344
Corporation OSO
Key field (primary key)

SPARE_PART

SPARE_PART SPARE_PART Unit_Price SUPPLIER

Number NAME _Number
N
137 Door latch 2200.00 8259
145 Side mirror 1200.00 8444
150 Door molding 6000.00 8263
152 Door look 31000.00 8259
155 Compressor 64000.00 8261
178 Door Handle 1000.00 8259

Primary Key Foreign Key

A relational database organizes data in the form of two-dimensional tables. Illustrated here are tables for the entities SUPPLIER
and SPARE_PART showing how they represent each entity and its attributes. Supplier_Nunber is a primary kef for the SUPPLIER
table and a foreign key for SPARE_PART table

Supnlier_Number is the primary key for the SUPPLIER table and Part_Nnmber is the primary key for the PART
table. Note that Supplier_Number appears in both the SUPPLIER and SPARE_PART tables. In the SUPPLIER
table, Supplier_Number is the primary key. When the field Supplier_Number appears in the PART table it is
called a foreign key and is essentially a lookup field to look up data about supplier for a specific part.

Operations of a Relational DBMS

Relational database tables, can be combined easily to deliver data required by users, provided that any two

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tables share a common data element. Suppose we wanted to find in this database the names of suppliers who
could provide us with part number 137 or part number 150. We would need in information from two tables:
the SUPPLIER table and the SPARE_PART table. Note that these two files have a shared data element:
Supplier_Number.

In a relational database, three basic operations, as shown in Figure below, are used to develop useful
sets of data. select, join, and project. The select operation creates a subset consisting of all records in the
file that meet stated criteria. Select creates, in other words, a subset of rows that meet certain criteria. In
our example, we want to select records (rows) from the SPARE_PART table where the Part_Number equals
137 or 150.
The join operation combines relational tables to provide the user with more information than is available
in individual tables. In our example, we want to join the now-shortened S_PART table (only parts 137 or
150) will be presented) and the SUPPLIER table into a single new table
The project operation creates a subset consisting of columns in a table, permitting the user to create new
tables that contain only the information required. In our example, we want to extract from the new table only the
following; Part_Number, Part_Name. Supplier_Number, arid Supplier_Name.

THE THREE BASIC OPERATIONS OF A RELATIONSHIP DBMS

SPARE_PART SPARE_PART SUPPLIER_ SUPPLIER_Name

Number NAME Number

137 Door latch 8259 CBM Inc

150 Door molding 8263 Jackson Components
Project selected columns

The select, joint and project operations enable data from two different tables to be combined
and only selected attributes to be displayed

Object-Oriented DBMS
Many Applications today require databases that ran stored and retrieve not only structured numbers and
characters but also drawings, images. photographs, voice, and Full -motion video. DBMS designed for
Organising structured data into rows, and columns are not well suited to handling graphics based or multimedia
applications. Object-oriented databases are better suited for this purpose.
An object-oriented DBMS stores the data and procedures that act on those as data as objects that can be
automatically retrieved and shared. Object-oriented database management systems (OODBMS) are becoming
popular because they can be used to manage the various multimedia components or Java applets used in Web
applications, which typically integrate pieces of information from a variety of sources.
It structures groups data items and their associated characteristics, attributes, and procedures into
complex items called objects/entity. An entity is a “thing” or “object” in the real world that is
distinguished from another object.
Physically, an object can be anything: a person, (bank a/c) a product, an event, a house, an appliance, a
textile, an art piece a toy, or a customer complaint. An object is defined by its characteristics, attributes,
and procedures. Objects characteristics can be test, sound, graphics, and video. Examples of attributes
might be color, size, style, quantity, and price. A procedure refers to the processing or handling that can be
associated with the object.
Although object-oriented databases can store more complex types of information than relational DBMS, they
are relatively slow compared with relational DBMS for processing large numbers of transactions.
Hybrid object-relational DBMS systems are now available to provide capabilities of both object-oriented and
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 relational DBMS. The object-relational data model combines features of the object-oriented data model and
relational data model. Semi-structured data models permit the specification of data where individual data items of
the same type may have different sets of attributes. This is in contrast with the data models mentioned earlier, where
every data item of a particular type must have the same set of attributes.

b.) Hierarchical Database

In hierarchical database, records are organized in a treelike structure by type. The relationship
between records types is said to be a parent-child relationship, in which any child type relates only to
a single parent type. A record is subdivided into segments that are connected to each other in one-to-
many parent-child relationship. The most common hierarchical DMBS is (Information Management
System).

c.) Network Database

The network model is a database model conceived as a flexible way of representing objects and their
relationships. It is similar to the hierarchical structure except that any one record type can relate to any
number of other record types. Network data model present a logical database model that is useful for
depicting many-to-many relationship. Like the hierarchical structure, the network database structure is
used in older mainframe system.

COMPONENTS /CAPABILITIES OF A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A database management system has capabilities and tools for organizing, managing, and accessing the data in the
database. The most important are its Data definition language, Data dictionary, and Data manipulation language.

a.) A data definition language is the component of a database management system that defines each data as it appears
in the database. (It has the capability to specify the structure of the content of the database. It is used to create
database tables and to define the characteristics of the fields in each table.) A data definition language is the
formal language used by programmer to specify the content and structure of the database. The data definition
language defines each element as it appears in the database before the data element is translated into the forms
required by application programs.

b.) A data manipulation language is a language associated with a database management system that is employed by
end users and programmers to manipulate data in the database. Most DBMS have a specialized language called a
data manipulation language. A data-manipulation language (DML) is a language that enables users to access or
manipulate data as organized by the appropriate data model. Data manipulation language is use to add,
change, delete, and retrieve the data in the database. The language contains commands that permit end users
and programming specialist to extract data from the database to satisfy information requests and develop
applications. The most prominent data manipulation language today is Structured Query Language, or SQL.
Complex programming tasks cannot be performed efficiently with typical data manipulation language.

There are basically two types:

Procedural DMLs require a user to specify what data are needed and how to get those data.
Declarative DMLs (also referred to as nonprocedural DMLs) require a user to specify what data are needed
without specifying how to get those data. Declarative DMLs are usually easier to learn and use than procedural
DMLs.

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 A query is a statement requesting the retrieval of information. The portion of a DML that involves information
retrieval is called a query language. Although technically incorrect, it is common practice to use the terms query
language and data manipulation language synonymously

c.) Data dictionary/directory: the information about the database would be documented in a data dictionary. This is
an automated or manual file that stores definitions of data elements and data characteristics such as usage,
physical representation, ownership (who in the organization is responsible for maintain the data), authorization,
and security. It is the third element of a DBMS. Many data dictionaries can produce lists and reports of data
utilization, groupings, program location, etc. A data dictionary is a DBMS component that stores the definition
of data, characteristics and relationships. A data dictionary contains metadata—that is, data about data. The
schema of a table is an example of metadata. A database system consults the data dictionary before reading or
modifying actual data.eg minimum of 1000 balanced.
Microsoft Access has a rudimentary data dictionary capability that displays information about the name,
description, size, type, format, and other properties of each field in a table. Data dictionaries for large corporate
databases may capture additional information, such as usage, ownership (who in the organization is
responsible for maintaining the data), authorization; security, and the individuals, business functions,
programs, and reports that use each data element

DESIGNING DATABASES
To create a database one must understand the relationships among the data, the type of data that will be
maintained in the database, how the data will be used, and how the organization will need to change to
manage data from a company-wide perspective. The database requires both a conceptual design and a physical
design. The conceptual, or logical, design of a database is an abstract model of the database from a business
perspective, whereas the physical design show how the database is actually arranged on direct-access storage devices.

DATA WAREHOUSES
Suppose you want concise, reliable information about current operations, trends, and changes across the entire
Company. If you worked in a large company, obtaining this might be difficult because data are often maintained in
separate systems, such as sales, manufacturing, or accounting. Soane of the data you need might be found in the sales
system, and other pieces in the manufacturing system. Many of these systems are older legacy systems that use
outdated data management technologies or file systems where information i is difficult for users to access.
You might have to spend an inordinate amount of time locating and gathering the data you need, or you would be
forced to make your decision based on incomplete knowledge. if you want information about trends, you might also
have trouble finding data about past events because most firms only make their current data immediately available. Data
warehousing address these problems.

What Is a Data Warehouse?

A data warehouse is a database that stores current and historical data of potential interest to decision makers
throughout the company. The data originate in many core operational transaction systems, such as systems for
sale, customer accounts, and manufacturing, and may include data from Web site transactions. The data warehouse
consolidates and standardizes information from different operational databases so that the information can be used across
the enterprise for management analysis and decision making.

Data mart

A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse in which a summarized or highly focused portion of the organization’s
data is placed in a separate database for a specific population of user. A data mart typically focuses on a single

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subject area or line of business, so it usually can be constructed more rapidly and at lower cost than an enterprise-
wide data warehouse

1.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of a DBMS

Using a DBMS to manage data has many advantages:
Data independence: Application programs should be as independent as possible from details of data representation
and storage. The DBMS can provide an abstract view of the data to insulate application code from such details.
Efficient data access: A DBMS utilizes a variety of sophisticated techniques to store and retrieve data efficiently.
This feature is especially important if the data is stored on external storage devices.
Data integrity and security: If data is always accessed through the DBMS, the DBMS can enforce integrity
constraints on the data. For example, before inserting salary information for an employee, the DBMS can check that
the department budget is not exceeded. Also, the DBMS can enforce access controls that govern what data is visible
to different classes of users.
Data administration: When several users share the data, centralizing the administration of data can offer
significant improvements. Experienced professionals, who understand the nature of the data being managed, and
how different groups of users use it, can be responsible for organizing the data representation to minimize
redundancy and fine-tuning the storage of the data to make retrieval efficient.
Concurrent access and crash recovery: A DBMS schedules concurrent accesses to the data in such a manner that
users can think of the data as being accessed by only one user at a time. Further, the DBMS protects users from the
effects of system failures.
Reduced application development time: Clearly, the DBMS supports many important functions that are common
to many applications accessing data stored in the DBMS. This, in conjunction with the high-level interface to the
data, facilitates quick development of applications. Such applications are also likely to be more robust than
applications developed from scratch because many important tasks are handled by the DBMS instead of being
implemented by the application.
Improved data sharing: The DBMS helps create an environment in which end users have better access to more
and better-managed data. Such access makes it possible for end users to respond quickly to changes in their
environment. Improved data security: The more users access the data, the greater the risks of data security
breaches. Corporations invest considerable amounts of time, effort, and money to ensure that corporate data are
used properly. A DBMS provides a framework for better enforcement of data privacy and security policies.
Better data integration: Wider access to well-managed data promotes an integrated view of the organization's
operations and a clearer view of the big picture. It becomes much easier to see how actions in one segment of the
company affect other segments.
Minimized data inconsistency: Data inconsistency exists when different versions of the same data appear in
different places. For example, data inconsistency exists when a company's sales department stores a sales
representative's name as "Akinyemi Larne" and the company's personnel department stores that same person's name
as" Akinycmi A.Olanrewaju," The probability of data inconsistency is greatly reduced in a properly designed
database.
Improved data access: The DBMS makes it possible to produce quick answers to ad hoe queries. From a database
perspective, a query is a specific request issued to the DBMS for data manipulation--for example, to read or update
the data. Simply put, a query is a question, and an ad hoe query is a spur-of-the-moment question (spontaneous
/impromptu). DBMS sends back an answer (called the query result set) to the application. For example, end users,
when dealing with large amounts of sales data, might want quick answers to questions (ad hoe queries) such as:
- What was the total sales of a particular product during the past six months?
-· What is the sales bonus figure for each of our salespeople during the past three months?
- How many of our customers have credit balances of N30,000 or more?
Improved decision making: Better-managed data and improved data access make it possible to generate better-
quality information, on which better decisions are based. The quality of the information generated depends on the
quality of the underlying data. Data quality is a comprehensive approach to promoting the accuracy, validity, and
timeliness of the data. While the DBMS does not guarantee data quality, it provides a framework to facilitate data
quality initiatives.
Iincreased end-user productivity: The availability of data, combined with the tools that transform data into usable

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information, empowers end users to make quick, informed decisions that can make the difference between success
and failure in the global economy.

Disadvantages of a DBMS
Although the database system yields considerable advantages over previous data management approaches, database
systems do carry significant disadvantages. For example:
Increased costs: Database systems require sophisticated hardware and software and highly skilled personnel. The
cost of maintaining the hardware, software, and personnel required to operate and manage a database system can be
substantial. Training, licensing, and regulation compliance costs are often overlooked when database systems are
implemented.
Management complexity. Database systems interface with many different technologies and have a significant
impact on a company's resources and culture. The changes introduced by the adoption of a database system must be
properly managed to ensure that they help advance the company's objectives. Given the fact that database systems
hold crucial company data that are accessed from multiple sources, security issues must be assessed constant I y.
Maintaining currency: To maximize the efficiency of database system, you must keep your system current.
Therefore, you must perform frequent updates and apply the latest patches and security measures to all components.
Because database technology advances rapidly, personnel training costs tend to be significant. Vendor dependence.
Given the heavy investment in technology and personnel training, companies might be reluctant to change database
vendors. As a consequence, vendors are less likely to offer pricing point advantages to existing customers, and those
customers might be limited in their choice of database system components.
Frequent upgrade/replacement cycles. DBMS vendors frequently upgrade their products by adding new
functionality. Such new features often come bundled in new upgrade versions of the software. Some of these
versions require hardware upgrades. Not only do the upgrades themselves cost money, but it also costs money to
train database users and administrators to properly use and manage the new features.

Danger of Overkill: For small and simple applications for single users a database system is often not advisable.
Complexity: A database system creates additional complexity and requirements. The supply and operation of a
database management system with several users and databases is quite costly and demanding.
Qualified Personnel: The professional operation of a database system requires appropriately trained staff. Without
a qualified database administrator nothing will work for long.
Costs: Through the use of a database system new costs are generated for the system itself but also for additional
hardware and the more complex handling of the system.
Lower Efficiency: A database system is a multi-use software which is often less efficient than specialised software
which is produced and optimised exactly for one problem.
• Complexity, Cost of DBMS, Cost of conversion, Higher impact of a failure, Additional Hardware
Costs
• Take a long time to design and implement, Performance, Experts -Specialized Personnel
• Potential organizational Conflict

Conclusion
In an ideal database management system, the data in the database are defined only once and used
for all data processing applications whose data reside in the database, thereby eliminating data
redundancy and inconsistency. As data processing applications request data elements from the
database, the data elements called for by the application are found and delivered by the DBMS. This
enhances both the productivity of the application developer and end user

Summary
The use of a suitable Database Management System for data processing can reduce program-data
dependence along with program development and maintenance cost. Access and availability of

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information can be increased because user and programmers can perform impromptu queries of
data in the database. However, the use of DBMS may lead to additional hardware costs, higher
impact on failure and the introduction of some complexities amongst other demerits.

Assignment

Q1. What do you consider as the major differences between hierarchical database and network
database?

1.11 Database Administrators and Database Users

A primary goal of a database system is to retrieve information from and store new information in the database.
People who work with a database can be categorized as database users or database administrators.

Database Users and User Interfaces

There are four different types of database-system users, differentiated by the way they expect to interact with
the system. Different types of user interfaces have been designed for the different types of users.
Naive users are unsophisticated users who interact with the system by invoking one of the application
programs that have been written previously. For example, a bank teller who needs to transfer $50 from account
A to account B invokes a program called transfer. This program asks the teller for the amount of money to be
transferred, the account from which the money is to be transferred, and the account to which the money is to be
transferred.
As another example, consider a user who wishes to find her account balance over the World Wide Web. Such a
user may access a form, where she enters her account number. An application program at the Web server then
retrieves the account balance, using the given account number, and passes this information back to the user.
The typical user interface for naive users is a forms interface, where the user can fill in appropriate fields of the
form. Naive users may also simply read reports generated from the database.
Application programmers are computer professionals who write application programs. Application
programmers can choose from many tools to develop user interfaces.
Sophisticated users interact with the system without writing programs. Instead, they form their requests in a
database query language. They submit each such query to a query processor, whose function is to break down
DML statements into instructions that the storage manager understands. Analysts who submit queries to
explore data in the database fall in this category.

Another class of tools for analysts is data mining tools, which help them find certain kinds of patterns in data.
Specialized users are sophisticated users who write specialized database applications that do not fit into the
traditional data-processing framework.
Among these applications are computer-aided design systems, knowledge base and expert systems, systems
that store data with complex data types (for example, graphics data and audio data), and environment-modeling
systems.

Database Administrator
One of the main reasons for using DBMSs is to have central control of both the data and the programs that
access those data. A person who has such central control over the system is called a database administrator
(DBA).
The functions of a DBA include:
Schema definition The DBA creates the original database schema by executing a set of data definition
statements in the DDL. Storage structure and access-method definition

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Schema and physical-organization modification: The DBA carries out changes to the schema and physical
organization to reflect the changing needs of the organization, or to alter the physical organization to improve
performance.
Granting of authorization for data access: granting different types of authorization; the database
administrator can regulate which parts of the database various users can access. The authorization information
is kept in a special system structure that the database system consults whenever someone attempts to access the
data in the system.
Routine maintenance: Examples of the database administrator’s routine maintenance activities are:
Periodically backing up the database, either onto tapes or onto remote servers, to prevent loss of data in case of
disasters such as flooding; Ensuring that enough free disk space is available for normal operations, and
upgrading disk space as required; Monitoring jobs running on the database and ensuring that performance is
not degraded by very expensive tasks submitted by some users.

Other functions include:

• Implements the specific policies and procedure through which data can be managed as an
organizational resource.
• Plans for data usage
• Oversees the logical and physical database design and data dictionary development.
• Formulate information policy that specifies its rules for sharing, disseminating, acquiring,
standardizing, classifying, and inventorying information in a organization
• Specifies rules governing the maintenance, distribution, and use of information in an
organization
• Define and organizes database structure and content
• Develops security procedure to safeguard the database
• Develops database documentation
• Maintains the database management software

DBMS Architecture and Data Independence

Three important characteristics of the database approach are (1) insulation of programs and data (program-data
and program-operation independence); (2) support of multiple user views; and (3) use of a catalog to store the
database description (schema). Architecture for database systems, also called the three-schema architecture,
was proposed to help achieve and visualize these characteristics.

The Three-Schema Architecture

The goal of the three-schema architecture, is to separate the user applications and the physical database. In this
architecture, schemas can be defined at the following three levels:
1. The internal level has an internal schema, which describes the physical storage structure of the
database. The internal schema uses a physical data model and describes the complete details of data
storage and access paths for the database.
2. The conceptual level has a conceptual schema, which describes the structure of the whole database for
a community of users. The conceptual schema hides the details of physical storage structures and
concentrates on describing entities, data types, relationships, user operations, and constraints. A high-
level data model or an implementation data model can be used at this level.
3. The external or view level includes a number of external schemas or user views. Each external schema
describes the part of the database that a particular user group is interested in and hides the rest of the
database from that user group. A high-level data model or an implementation data model can be used at
this level.

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The processes of transforming requests and results between levels are called mappings. These mappings may
be time-consuming, so some DBMSs—especially those that are meant to support small databases—do not
support external views. Even in such systems, however, a certain amount of mapping is necessary to transform
requests between the conceptual and internal levels.

1.13 Types of Database System

Several criteria are normally used to classify DBMSs. The first is the data model on which the DBMS is based.
DBMSs based on the data model: relational, object, object-relational, hierarchical, network, and other.

The second criterion used to classify DBMSs is the number of users supported by the system. Single-user
systems support only one user at a time and are mostly used with personal computers. Multiuser systems,
which include the majority of DBMSs, support multiple users concurrently.

A third criterion is the number of sites over which the database is distributed. A DBMS is centralized if the
data is stored at a single computer site. A centralized DBMS can support multiple users, but the DBMS and
the database themselves reside totally at a single computer site. A distributed DBMS (DDBMS) can have the
actual database and DBMS software distributed over many sites, connected by a computer network.
Homogeneous DDBMSs use the same DBMS software at multiple sites.

Popular DBMS Software

 MySQL

 Microsoft Access

 Oracle
 PostgreSQL
 dBASE
 FoxPro
 SQLite
 IBM DB2

 LibreOffice Base

 MariaDB

 Microsoft SQL Server etc .

Application of DBMS
Sector Use of DBMS

Banking For customer information, account activities, payments, deposits, loans, etc.

Airlines For reservations and schedule information.

Universities For student information, course registrations, colleges and grades.

Telecommunication It helps to keep call records, monthly bills, maintaining balances, etc.

For storing information about stock, sales, and purchases of financial

Finance
instruments like stocks and bonds.

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 Sales Use for storing customer, product & sales information.

It is used for the management of supply chain and for tracking production of
Manufacturing
items. Inventories status in warehouses.

For information about employees, salaries, payroll, deduction, generation of

HR Management
paychecks, etc.

Summary
In this course we have discussed in a relatively informal manner the major components of a database system.
We summaries the discussion below:
A database-management system (DBMS) is a collection of interrelated data and a set of programs to access
those data. This is a collection of related data with an implicit meaning and hence is a database.
A datum – a unit of data – is a symbol or a set of symbols which is used to represent something. This
relationship between symbols and what they represent is the essence of what we mean by information.
Knowledge refers to the practical use of information.
The collection of information stored in the database at a particular moment is called an instance of the
database. The overall design of the database is called the database schema.
The physical schema describes the database design at the physical level, while the logical schema describes
the database design at the logical level. A database may also have several schemas at the view level, sometimes
called subschemas, that describe different views of the database.
Application programs are said to exhibit physical data independence if they do not depend on the physical
schema, and thus need not be rewritten if the physical schema changes.
Underlying the structure of a database is the data model: a collection of conceptual tools for describing data,
data relationships, data semantics, and consistency constraints.

A database system provides a data definition language to specify the database schema and a data
manipulation language to express database queries and updates.
One of the main reasons for using DBMSs is to have central control of both the data and the programs that
access those data. A person who has such central control over the system is called a database administrator
(DBA).
Key Words
DBMS, Data Integrity, Data Persistence, Schemas, Physical Schema, Logical Schema, Data Model, DDL,
DML, Data Dictionary
Self Assessment Questions
1. Why would you choose a database system instead of simply storing data in operating system files?
When would it make sense not to use a database system?
2. What is logical data independence and why is it important?
3. Explain the difference between logical and physical data independence.
4. Explain the difference between external, internal, and conceptual schemas. How are these different
schema layers related to the concepts of logical and physical data independence?
5. What are the responsibilities of a DBA?
6. Distinguish between logical and physical database design.
7. Describe and define the key properties of a database system. Give an organizational example of the
benefits of each property.
References/Further Readings
R G Anderson, (1990). Data Processing, Volume 1: Principles and Practice, Pitman Publishing,
Singapore,

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Gerald V. (2005). Post Database Management Systems, Designing and Building Business Applications,
Third Edition, McGraw-Hill,

Kenneth C. Laudon, & Jane P. Laudon (2000) Management Information Systems, Organization and
Technology. Prentice Hall International, Inc, NY.
Jeffery L. Whitten, Lonnie D. Bentley, Kevin C. Dittman, (2004) Systems Analysis and Design Methods,
McGraw Hill, New York,
http://www.microsoft-accesssolutions.co.uk
Date, C, J, Introduction to Database Systems, 7th edition
Leon, Alexis and Leon, Mathews, Database Management Systems, LeonTECHWorld .
Kenneth C. Laudon, & Jane P. Laudon (2013) Management Information System; Horizon Edition Contribution.
12th Edition (236-272) Pearson Education Limited, England

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