Database for dummies (Database and Database concepts explained)

What is Database?

Database is an organized collection of data that is structured for easy access, management, and retrieval of information (Miller, 2021). The relational database is the most commonly used type of database, which uses tables consisting of rows and columns with keys linking different tables (Miller, 2021). Databases are essential for businesses and organizations handling large volumes of data, such as customer information, sales data, and inventory records (Miller, 2021). Databases have various applications, including web applications, mobile apps, enterprise software, data analytics, and business intelligence, where they are used to store and analyze data for insights to aid decision-making (Miller, 2021).


Exploring some advantages:

Databases offer numerous advantages to businesses, organizations, and individuals who need to manage large amounts of data (Chapple, 2021). Some of the benefits of using databases include data integrity, data security, improved data accessibility, data consistency, scalability, and data sharing (Oracle, n.d.).

Data integrity is ensured by enforcing data constraints, such as data types and data ranges, which prevent invalid data from being stored (Oracle, n.d.). Databases also provide built-in security mechanisms to protect data from unauthorized access, such as user authentication, access control, and data encryption (Chapple, 2021).

Improved data accessibility is achieved by allowing users to retrieve data based on specific criteria, such as queries or searches, which saves time and effort (Oracle, n.d.). Databases maintain data consistency by ensuring that data is stored in a standardized format across all tables and fields, reducing errors and inconsistencies (Chapple, 2021).

Databases are scalable, which means they can be scaled up or down as the size of the data increases or decreases, ensuring that the database can handle the growing data needs of the organization without affecting its performance (Oracle, n.d.). Finally, databases enable data sharing across multiple departments or systems, ensuring that everyone in the organization has access to the same data (Chapple, 2021).


Database concepts:

Tables: Tables are the basic structure of a relational database that store data in rows and columns (Oracle, n.d.).

Keys: Keys are used to establish relationships between tables in a relational database and ensure data integrity (Chen, 1976).

Indexes: Indexes are used to improve the performance of database queries by enabling quick access to specific data (Oracle, n.d.).

Views: Views are virtual tables that present data from one or more tables in a customized way without actually altering the data (Oracle, n.d.).

Stored Procedures: Stored procedures are pre-written database programs that are stored in the database and can be executed by calling them (Oracle, n.d.).



References

Chen, P. P. (1976). The entity-relationship model - toward a unified view of data. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, vol. 1, pp. 9-36. https://doi.org/10.1145/320434.320440

Chapple, M. (2021). What are the benefits of using a database? Lifewire. Available at: https://www.lifewire.com/database-normalization-basics-1019735 (Accessed: 02/25/2023).

Miller, M. (2021). Introduction to databases. In G. D. Holzmann & D. P. Bunde (Eds.), Principles of software engineering management (pp. 195-211). Springer International Publishing.

Oracle. (n.d.). The Benefits of Using a Database. Available at: https://www.oracle.com/a/ocom/docs/10-benefits-of-oracle-data-management-platform.pdf (Accessed: 02/25/2023).

Oracle. (n.d.). Tables, Views, and Materialized Views. Available at: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14200/index.htm (Accessed: 02/25/2023).

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