Why Study Database Systems?

The history of database system research is

one of exceptional productivity and startling
economic impact. Barely 20 years old as a
basic science research field, database
research has fueled an information services
industry at $10 billion per year in the U.S.
alone. Achievements in database research
underpin fundamental advances in
communication systems, transportation and
logistics, financial management, knowledgebased systems, accessibility to scientific
literature, and a host of other civilian and
defense applications. They also serve as the
foundation for considerable progress in the
basic science fields ranging from computing
to biology.

The database system is

arguably the most important
development in the field of software
engineering.
The database is now the underlying
framework of information systems,
and has fundamentally changed the
way many organizations operate.
Database technology has been an
exciting area to work in, and since its
emergence, has been the catalyst for
many significant developments in
software engineering.
The database is now such an integral
part of our day-to-day life that often
we are not aware we are using one.
Some Common Applications of
Database Systems
Purchasing goods from a supermarket
(point-of-sale systems).
Purchasing goods using a credit card.
Booking a flight reservation.
Making payment to a bill on-line.
Transacting in a bank using automated
teller machines (ATM)
Borrowing a book from the library.
Enrolling in a school.

Traditional File-Based Approach

Definition: File-Based System
A collection of application programs that
perform services for the end-users such as
the production of reports. Each program
defines and manages its own data. Filebased systems were an early attempt to
computerize the manual filing system.
Examples of File-Based Applications
Students IQ results and psychological
profile and the Guidance Center

Transcript of Records at the Records

Division
Students Accounts at the Finance
department
Students information sheets at the
different colleges.

Limitations of the File-Based Approach

Separation and isolation of data
difficult to access especially
when accessing more than two
files
Duplication of data
wasteful, it costs time and
money
leads to loss of data integrity
Data dependence
physical structure and storage
data files defined in the
application code
very difficult to manage and
maintain
Incompatibility of files
conversion is needed to merge
two incompatible files
time-consuming and costly to
manage
Fixed queries / proliferation of
application programs
dependence on the application
programmers
adhoc and unplanned reports
are not immediately addressed
Why the Limitations?
The definition of the data is embedded
in the application programs, rather
than being stored separately and
independently.
There is no control over the access
and manipulation of data beyond that
imposed by the application
programmers.
From the end users point of view, the
file-based systems proved to be a
great improvement over manual
systems.
Database Approach
Definition: Database
An integrated and shared collection of
logically related data (and a description of
this data), designed to meet the information
needs of an organization.
By integrated, we mean that the database
can be thought of as a unification of several
otherwise distinct data files, with any

redundancy among those files wholly or

partly eliminated
By shared, we mean that individual pieces of
data in the database can be shared among
different users, in the sense that each of
those users can have access to the same
piece of data and different users can use it
for different purposes.

Recovery-Control System, which

restores the database to a
previous consistent state
following a hardware or
software failure
Catalog System, which contains
descriptions of data in the
database

Roles in the Database Environment

Database Management System (DBMS)
A software system that enables users to
define, create and maintain the database
and which provides controlled access to this
database. The DBMS is the software that
interacts with the users application
programs and the database.
Facilities provided by a DBMS

Allows data in the database to be

defined through a Data Definition
Language (DDL).
Allows processing of data in the
database (storage, insertion, deletion,
retrieval) through a Data Manipulation
Language (DML).
Provided controlled access to data in
the database:
Security System, which
prevents unauthorized access
Integrity System, which
maintains consistency of stored
data
Concurrency-Control System,
which allows shared access of
the database

Data and Database Administrators

The Data Administrator (DA) is responsible
for the management of the data resource
including planning, development and
maintenance of standards, policies and
procedures and logical database design.
The Database Administrator (DBA) is
responsible for the physical realization of the
database system, including physical
database design and implementation,
security and integrity control, maintenance
of the operational system and ensuring
satisfactory performance for the applications
and users.
Logical and Physical Database
Designers
The Logical Database Designer is concerned
with identifying the data, the relationships
between the data and the constraints on the
data that is to be stored in the database.
The Physical Database Designer takes the
logical data model and decides how it is to
be physically realized.
Application Programmers
The Application Programmer is responsible
for the development of the application

programs that provide the required

functionality for the end users.

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S02

End-Users
Nave Users - typically unaware of the DBMS;
access data through application programs.
Sophisticated Users - familiar with the
structure of the database and the facilities
offered by the DBMS.

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Advantages of the Database Approach

Control of Data Redundancy
Data Consistency
More information from the same
amount of data
Sharing of data
Improved data integrity
Improved security
Enforcement of standards
Economy of scale
Balanced conflicting requirements
Improved data accessibility and
responsiveness
Increased productivity
Improved maintenance through data
independence
Increased concurrency
Improved backup and recovery
services
Disadvantages of the Database
Approach
Complexity
Size
Cost of DBMS
Additional Hardware Costs
Cost of Conversion
Performance
Higher Impact of a Failure

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Ellison
Gates
3
McNeally
2
Barksdale
4

Larry
Bill
Scott
Jim

BSCS
BSIT

BSCS
BSA

Terminology
The relational model is based on the
mathematical concept of a relation, which is
physically represented as a table.
Relational Data Structure
RELATION - A relation is a table with
columns and rows.
ATTRIBUTE - An attribute is a named
column of a relation.
DOMAIN - A domain is the set of
allowable values for one or more
attributes.
TUPLE - A tuple is a row of a relation.
DEGREE - The degree of a relation is
the number of attributes it contains.
CARDINALITY - The cardinality of a
relation is the number of tuples it
contains.
RELATIONAL DATABASE - A collection
or normalized relations.
Alternative Terminology
Formal
Alternative
Alternative
Terms
Term 1
2
Relation
Table
Tuple
Row
Attribute
Column

Term
File
Record
Field

The Relational Model

The relational data model is based on the
concept of mathematical relations. In the
relational model, data and relationships are
represented as tables, each of which has a
number of columns with a unique name.
A Sample Instance of a Relational Schema
Course No.
BSCS
BSIT
BSA
Student No.
No.
Year

Description
Computer Science
Information Technology
Accountancy
Fname

Lname

Course

Properties of Relations
A relation has the following characteristics:

The relation name has a name that is

distinct from all other relations within
a database model.
Each cell of the relation contains
exactly one atomic value.
Each attribute has a distinct name
within a relation.
The values of an attribute are all from
the same domain.
The order of the attributes has no
significance.
Each tuple is distinct; there are no
duplicate tuples.
The order of tuples has no significance,
theoretically. However, in practice, the order
may affect the efficiency of accessing tuples

Relational Keys Candidate Key

We think of a key as a data item that allows
us to uniquely identify individual occurrences
of an entity type.
Candidate Key
An attribute or set of attributes that uniquely
identifies individual occurrences of an entity
type.
Example: Employee Entity Candidate
Keys
Employee Number
SSS Number
Tax Identification Number
Relational Keys Primary Key

Relational Integrity
Entity Integrity
In a base relation, no attribute of a primary
key can be null.
A NULL represents a value for an attribute
that is currently unknown or is not applicable
for a tuple.
Referential Integrity
If a foreign key exists in a relation, either the
foreign key value must match a candidate
key value of some tuples in its home relation
or the foreign key value must be wholly null.

An entity type may have more than one

candidate key. For example, an
Identification Number and also a unique
company-assigned Employee Number. Of
these three, one must be selected as the
primary key.
Primary Key

The candidate key that is selected to

identify tuples uniquely within the
relation.

The Relational Algebra

Relational algebra is a theoretical language
with operations that work on one or more
relations to define another relation without
changing the original relations.
The relational algebra as defined by E.F.
Codd consisted of eight operators, two
groups of four each:

The traditional set operations union,

intersection, difference and Cartesian
product;
The special relational operations
selection, project, join and divide.