Common Server / Database Terminology

Contents of a Database

- Tables of user data - Metadata - Indexes - Stored Procedures - Triggers - Security Data - Backup/Recovery Data

Access

A DBMS created by Microsoft, it is a collection of data and objects, such as tables, queries, or forms, related to a particular topic or purpose.

Compound Key

A Key composed of more than one attribute.

RDBMS

A Relational Database Management System

Secondary Key

A candidate key that coud have been the primary key but was not selected as such ; OR a field that is not the primary key but has been used for indexing nevertheless.

Data Warehouse

A central repository for databases across an entire enterprise.

Data Type

A characteristic of a field that determines what kind of data it can store and what type of operations can be performed on it.

Attribute

A characteristic of the items in a database i.e. a field

Record

A collection of fields that together describe one entity.

Super key

A combination of attributes that can be used to uniquely identify a database record. Candidate keys are a special subset of super keys that do not have any extraneous information in them

Text Box

A control, also called an edit field, used on a form, report or data access page to display text or accept data entry.It can have a label attached to it.

Hierarchical Database

A data model in which the data is organized into a tree-like structure. The structure allows representing information using parent/child relationships: each parent can have many children, but each child has only one parent

SQL

A database computer language designed for the retrieval and management of data in relational database management systems (RDBMS), database schema creation and modification, and database object access control management.

Form

A database object on which you place controls for entering, displaying and editing records in a table.

Report

A database object that prints information formatted and organised according to your specifications.

Table

A database object that stores data in records and fields. The data is usually about a particular category of things.

Index

A feature that speeds up searching and sorting in a table based on key values and can enforce uniqueness on the rows of a table.

Autonumber

A field data type that automatically stores a unique number for each record as it is added to a table.

Alternate Key

A field in a table with unique values that although it is not the primary key, it could have been used as such.

Calculated Field

A field, set up in a query, that displays the result of an evaluated expression rather than displaying stored data.The value of the calculated field is re-calculated each time a value in the expression changes.

Aggregate Function

A function such as sum, count or average that you use to include summary data in a report.

Entity Relationship Diagram

A graphical representation of all entity relationships (Data Model)

Database Diagram

A graphical representation of any portion of a database scheme.

E-R diagram

A graphical representation of entities and their relationship to each other, typically used in computing in regard to the organization of data within databases or information systems

Compound Key

A key that consists of 2 or more attributes that uniquely identify an entity occurrence.

Column

A location within a database table that stores one particular type of data i.e. a field

Composite Key

A primary key that is comprised of more than one field.

SQL

A programming language designed for managing & obtaining data in relational database management systems (RDBMS)

Make Table Query

A query ( SQL statement ) that creates a new table and then creates records in it by coping records from an existing table.

Select Query

A query that asks a question about the data stored in your tables and returns a results set in the form of a data sheet without changing the actual data in the table(s).

Action Query

A query that copies data or changes data in some way. This includes append, delete, make-table and update queries.

Delete Query

A query that removes records which match the criteria you specify from one or more tables

Query

A question about the data stored in your tables, or a request to perform an action on the data. A query can bring together data from multiple tables to serve as the source of data for a form. report or data access page.

Row

A record as seen in the data sheet view.

Referential Integrity Constraint

A referential integrity constraint is a statement that limits the values of the foreign key to those already existing as primary key values in the corresponding table.

Field

A section of a record containing data relating to one single characteristic of an entity; also called an attribute

Database

A self-describing collection of integrated tables. The tables are called integrated because they store data about the relationships between the rows of data. It is called self-describing because it stores a description of itself. The self-describing data is called metadata, which is data about data.

Flat File

A type of computer file system that stores all data in a single file.

Default Value

A value that is automatically entered in a field or control when you add a new record.

Null

A value that may be assigned to an attribute when no other value applies or when the applicable value is unknown.

View

A way of looking at a database object - usually looking at the design or at the contents/results

SQL View

A window that displays the SQL statement for the current query or is used to create a SQL specific query. When you create a query in design view, Access constructs the SQL equivalent in the SQL view.

Design View

A window that shows the design or structure of the database objects: tables, queries, forms, reports, macros and data access pages.

Expression Builder

An MS Access tool that simplifies a task. For example, you can quickly create a complex expression with the Expression Builder.

Data Model

An abstract model that documents and organizes the business data for communication between team members and is used as a plan for developing applications, specifically how data is stored and accessed.

Many-to-many Relationship

An association between two tables in which several records in one table can relate to 0, 1 or many records in the other table.

One-To-One Relationship

An association between two tables in which the primary key value of each record in the primary table corresponds to the value in the matching field or fields of one and only one record in the related table.

One-To-Many Relationship

An association between two tables in which the primary key value of each record in the primary table corresponds to the value in the matching field or fields of0, 1, or many records in the related table.

Relation

An association/link established between common fields in two different tables. A relationship can be one-to-one, many-to-many or more usually one-to-many.

Key

An attribute utilized to sort and/or identify data in some manner. Each table should have a primary key which uniquely identifies records.

Comparison Operator

An operator used to compare two values or expressions; For example, < (less than), > (greater than), = (equal to)

Database

An organised pool of related data files which can be easily accessed and managed and that may be used by a number of different application programs

Sort

Arrange the records in a view set in order according to a particular field

Determinant

Attribute that determines the value of another attribute.

Primary Key

Candidate key selected for use.

Database Management System (DBMS)

Creates, processes, and administers databases.

Data Manipulation Language

DBMS statements used to manage data (tables and other objects) within a database

Recursive Dependency

DOC MADE UP

Data Sheet

Data from a table, form, query which is displayed in a row-and-column format.

DBMS

Database Management System

Multi-valued Dependency

Dependency where determinant determines a list of values.

Transitive Dependency

Functional dependency involving only non-key attributes.

Transaction

Groups of database commands which are to be treated as a single atomic event.

Data Integrity Rules

Guidelines set in place to ensure the trustworthiness of data over its entire life cycle.

Table Window

In an access databse, a window in which you work with tables in design view or datasheet view.

Many-to-Many Relationships

Many-to-many relationships occur when each record in TableA may have 0, 1 or many linked records in TableB and vice-versa.

Foreign Key

One (or more fields) in a table that refer to the primary key in another table.

Primary Key

One or more fields whose values uniquely identify each record in a table.

Cardinality

Refers to the number of associations that can exist between two record types.

Self-Join

Relations which allow you to retrieve related records from the same table.

Trigger

Stored procedures that may be configured to automatically execute (fire) when certain events take place.

Schema

That structure which contains description of objects created by a user, such as base tables, views and constraints, as a part of a database.

Data Definiton Language

The DBMS language component used to create, alter and destroy databases and database objects i.e. schemas, tables, views, sequences, catalogs, indexes, and aliases.

Select

The DML statement used to choose data from a database. The result is stored in a temporary table, called the result-set.

Data

The actual pieces of facts that are stored in the fields in a database table.

Database Object

The components of a data abase i.e. tables, queries, forms, reports, pages, macros and modules.

Relational Database Model

The dominant database model — all current major DBMS products are based on it. It is based on mathematics called relational algebra.

Column Selector

The horizontal bar at the top of a column. You can click a column selector to select the entire column in the query design grid or the filter design grid

Where clause

The part of an SQL statement that specifies which record to retrieve.

Entities

The persons or things that a database table is about.

Database Management System

The program which is used to organize, access and manage the data in a database

Candidate Key

The set of fields in a table which stores unique values and so any one from the list can be selected to be the primary key.

Database Window

The window that appears when you open an Access database or an Access project. It displays the commands for creating new database objects and opening and manipulating existing objects.

Referential Integrity

This is a property of data which, when satisfied, requires every value of one field (attribute) of a table to exist as a value of another field in another related table.

Numeric Data Type

This is an exact numeric data type that holds from 10^38 - 1 through 10^38 - 1.

Group

Two or more controls that can be treated as one unit while designing a form or report. You can select the group instead of selecting each individual control as you are arranging controls or assigning properties.

Second Normal Form

When a table is not only in 1NF but each non key field is functionally dependent on the full primary key

Tuple

a.k.a record