CEdO515 : CEdO515 Databases
What is a Database? : What is a Database? A database is any organized collection of data. Some examples of databases you may encounter in your daily life are:
a telephone book
T.V. Guide
airline reservation system
motor vehicle registration records
papers in your filing cabinet
files on your computer hard drive.
What is data? : What is data? Data can be defined in many ways. Information science defines data as unprocessed information.
What is information? : What is information? Information is data that have been organized and communicated in a coherent and meaningful manner.
Data is converted into information, and information is converted into knowledge.
Knowledge; information evaluated and organized so that it can be used purposefully.
Why do we need a database? : Why do we need a database? Keep records of our:
Students
Staff
Volunteers
To keep a record of activities and interventions;
Keep sales records;
Develop reports;
Perform research
Longitudinal tracking
What is a database? : What is a database? Quite simply, it’s an organized collection of data. A database management system (DBMS) such as Access, FileMaker, Lotus Notes, Oracle or SQL Server which provides you with the software tools you need to organize that data in a flexible manner. It includes tools to add, modify or delete data from the database, ask questions (or queries) about the data stored in the database and produce reports summarizing selected contents.
Pats of a database : Pats of a database Traditional databases are organized by fields, records, and files.
A field is a single piece of information;
a record is one complete set of fields;
and a file is a collection of records.
For example, a telephone book is analogous to a file. It contains a list of records, each of which consists of three fields: name, address, and telephone number.