Database Management Basics

Database management is a system of managing the information that is used to support a company’s business operations. It involves storing data and distribution to applications and users making changes as needed and monitoring changes to the data and preventing it from being corrupted by unexpected failures. It is part of the informational infrastructure of a company which supports decision-making and corporate growth as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM along with others created the first database systems. They developed into information management systems (IMS) which allowed for the storage and retrieve large amounts of data for a variety of purposes, from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.

A database consists of tables that organize data according to some arrangement, like one-to-many relationships. It makes use of primary keys to identify records, and also allows cross-references among tables. Each table has a set of fields, called attributes, that provide information about the entities that comprise the data. Relational models, created by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at IBM, are the most popular database type currently. This design is based upon normalizing data to make it easier to use. It is also simpler to update data since it doesn’t require changing several databases.

Most DBMSs can support multiple types of databases, offering internal and external levels of organization. The internal level is concerned with cost, scalability and other operational issues such as dimtcollege.com the layout of the physical storage. The external level is the representation of the database on user interfaces and applications. It could comprise a mix of external views based on different data models and could include virtual tables that are calculated with generic data to enhance the performance.