database design

field

A character or group of characters ( alphabetic or numeric) that has a specific meaning . used to define and store data.

database management system

A collection of programs that manages the database structure and controls access to the data stored in the database.

data

"Raw" facts has little meaning unless they have been organized in some logical manner.

data inconsistency

exists when different versions of the same data appear in different places.

record

logically connected set of one or more fields that describes a person, place,, or thing.

multiuser database

supports multiple users at the same time

single user database

supports only one user at a time

structured query language

the de facto query language and data access standard by the majority of dbms vendors.

data redundancy

this exist when the same data is stored unnecessarily at different places.

enterprise database

when a multiuser database is used by the entire organization and supports many users across many departments its called

workgroup database

when a multiuser database supports a relatively small number of users.

Data Warehouse

Focuses primarily on storing data used to generate information required to make tactical or strategic decisions.

desktop database

a type of single user database that run on a personal pc

operational database

A database that is designed primarily to support a company day to day operations.

Distributed database

A database that supports data distributed across several different sites.

structural dependence

A file system exhibits this, that is, access to a file is dependent on its structure?

data independence

Exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics w/o affecting the application programs ability to access the data

database design

The activities that focus on the design of the database structure that will be used to store and manage end-user data.

Structural independence

This exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure w/o affecting the application programs ability to access the data

file

a collection of related records