Databases and Database Management System

Databases and database systems are an essential component of life in modern society. Every day most of us perform several activities that involve some interaction with a database.
If we go to the bank to deposit or withdraw funds, if we make a hotel or airline company booking, if we access a digital library directory to search for a bibliographic item or if we purchase something online– such as a book, toy, or computer– possibilities are that our activities will certainly involve someone or some computer system program accessing a database. Even buying items at a supermarket usually automatically updates the database that holds the inventory of grocery products.

These interactions are examples of what we may call standard database applications, in which the majority of the information that is saved as well as accessed is either textual or numeric. In the past couple of years, advances in technology have led to exciting brand-new applications of database systems. The spreading of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, among many others, has called for the creation of substantial databases that store nontraditional data, such as posts, tweets, images, and videos.

A database is a collection of relevant data and data here means known facts that could be recorded which have implied meaning. For instance, consider the names, telephone numbers, and also addresses of the people you know. Nowadays, this data is typically stored on mobile phones, which have their own simple database software. This data can additionally be recorded in an indexed address book or saved on a hard drive, making use of a personal computer and software program such as Microsoft Access or Excel. This collection of related data with an implied definition is a database.

Database Management System

A database management system (DBMS) is a computerized system that enables users to create and maintain a database. The DBMS is a general-purpose software program system that facilitates the processes of defining, creating, manipulating, as well as sharing databases amongst various users and applications. Defining a database involves specifying the data types, structures, and constraints of the data to be stored in the database. The database description or detailed information is also stored by the DBMS in the form of a database catalog or dictionary; it is called meta-data. Constructing the database is the process of storing the data on some storage medium that is regulated by the DBMS. Manipulating a database consists of functions such as querying the database to obtain particular data, upgrading the database to show changes in the mini-world, and generating records from the data. Sharing a database enables multiple users and programs to access the database simultaneously.