Database Management Basics

Database management is the process for managing data that supports the company’s business operations. It involves storing and distributing data it to applications and users making edits as needed as well as monitoring changes in data and protecting against data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is an element of an organization’s overall informational infrastructure, which supports decision-making and corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

The first database systems were created in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They developed into information management systems (IMS) that enabled the storage and retrieve huge amounts of information for a range of purposes, ranging from calculating inventory to supporting complicated financial accounting and human resources functions.

A database is a set of tables that arrange data in accordance with a specific pattern, such as one-to-many relationships. It makes use of primary keys to identify records, and allow cross-references between tables. Each table contains a number of fields, also known as attributes, that represent facts about classtak.in the entities that comprise the data. The most widely used type of database today is a relational model, created by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. This design is based on normalizing the data, making it more easy to use. It is also simpler to update data since it doesn’t require changing many sections of the databases.

Most DBMSs can support multiple types of databases by offering different internal and external levels of organization. The internal level deals with costs, scalability and other operational issues, like the physical layout of the database. The external level is the representation of the database on user interfaces and applications. It can include a mixture of different external views that are based on different data models and may also include virtual tables that are calculated with generic data to enhance the performance.