Download Managing Data Resources

Database Management
Infsy 540
Dr. R. Ocker
Importance of data & information

Data and information are corporate
resources which must be managed.
Data Bases
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The management of the information
resource is now handled through data
bases
We will cover how information used to
be managed (file environments) and
how it has progressed to its current
state
Hierarchy of data organization in
computer storage

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bit
byte
filed
record
file
database
Hierarchy of Data Organization in
Computer Storage
Example
Component of Data
Organization
SUPPLIERS
Database
Logical
Components
File
PARTS
SHIPMENTS
SUPPLIERS
NO. NAME
STREET
ADDRESS
13
50.Oak
Gasket Co.
CITY ST ZIP
Tifflin
OH 44883
.
.
3251 Reliable Supp. 11 Cedar Teaneck NJ 07666
Record
Field
(attribute)
Physical
(Storage)
Components
Byte
Bit
13
Gasket Co.
50 Oak
Tifflin
Reliable Suppliers
01000001 (represents “A” in the
ASCII-8 character code)
0
OH 44883
Traditional file environment
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most orgs. began information
processing on a small scale automating one application at a time
systems grew independently - not
according to a grand plan
typically, each division developed its
own applications
Traditional file environment

within each division,
– each functional area developed systems in
isolation from other functional areas
– accounting, finance, manufacturing etc. all
developed their own systems and data
files.

traditional file processing
– encourages each functional area in a
corporation to develop specialized
applications
Traditional file environment

each application requires a unique data
file
– probably a subset of a larger master file

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subsets of the master file lead to data
redundancy, processing inflexibility and
wasted storage resources
these “islands of information systems”
made it difficult to integrate information
Problems with traditional file
environment

1.data redundancy
– presence of duplicate data in multiple files
– error prone

2. lack of flexibility
– traditional file system cannot deliver ad hoc
reports
– information needed for ad hoc reports is
somewhere in the system, but too
difficult/expensive to easily retrieve
Problems with traditional file
environment

3. poor security
– because there is little control or
management of data, access to and
dissemination of information is not
controlled

4. lack of data sharing and availability
– due to lack of control over data resource,
not easy to share data - pieces of
information is in different files in different
parts of organization
File environment
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Data and the programs that use them
are highly interdependent
DATA BASE Environment

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data base - consists of data elements
and the relationships between them
it is a collection of data organized to
– service many applications at the same
time
– by storing and managing data so that they
appear to be in one location
DATA BASE Environment
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DBMS - database management system
special software to create and maintain
a database and allow individual
business applications to extract data
they need without having to create
separate files
DBMS promotes independence
between data, programs, and the
database
Logical and Physical
views of Data
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DBMS separates the logical and
physical views of data
logical view - presents data as they
would be perceived by end users or
business specialists
physical view - shows how data are
actually organized and structured on
physical storage media (e.g. within the
database)
DBMS and data definition
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DBMS enables us to define a database
on 3 levels
subschema
schema
physical schema
Schema
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since there are many different pieces of
data, we need a map showing how the
data are associated
map sometimes called a data model or
schema
complete logical view of the database
Schema
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logical description of an entire database
shows the relationships among the data
– chart of types of data that are used;
– gives names of groups and relationships
between them;
– framework
Subschema
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logical description of the part of a
database required by a particular
function or application program
application programmer/user does not
need to know about the entire database
schema
neither schemas nor subschema
reflects the way the data are stored
physically
3 data descriptions

1. Subschema
– a chart of a portion of the data which is
oriented to the needs of one or more
programmers/users
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2. Schema
– a chart of the entire logical data base;
overall view as seen by database
administrator
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3. Physical schema
– chart of the physical layout of data on
storage devices; view seen by systems
programmers and systems designers
Advantages of DBMS
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reduces complexity by central
management of data, access, utilization
and security
data redundancy and inconsistency can
be reduced by eliminating files in which
the same data elements are repeated
program-data independence -programs can be written independently
of the physical layout of the data; if
physical layout of data changes,
applications are unaffected
Advantages of DBMS
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program development and maintenance
costs can be reduced
flexibility of IS can be enhanced by
permitting rapid and inexpensive ad hoc
queries
access and availability of info. can be
increased
data base models
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data model - method for organizing
databases on the conceptual level
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different types of database models hierarchical, network, relational, objectoriented
Relational Model
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data files are represented as tables
– rows and columns
– called relations

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each relation is given a name
column
– called an attribute and given a name
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row
– called a tuple
– contains data
Tables/Relations
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table rows are records for individual
entities
table columns are fields of the records
– describe the attributes of the entities
Relations
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different subjects/topics are stored in
separate tables
– e.g. employee table and sales table
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instance of a relation
– the content of the relation at a particular
instant in time
Properties of relations
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There is one column in the relation for
each attribute of the relation.
Each column is given a name that is
unique in the relation.
The order of the columns or attributes in
the relation has no significance
The order of the rows is not significant.
There cannot be any duplicate rows.
Relation Key
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relation key
– an attribute or set of attributes that
uniquely identifies tuples (rows) in a
relation.
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A relation key is formally defined as a
set of one or more relation attributes
joined together.
all records in a table must have a
unique primary key - can be a group of
attributes combined to form a unique
identifier
Designing a Relational Database
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to design a database
– break down the information you want to
keep as separate subjects
– then determine how the subjects are
related to each other.
Steps
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1. determine the purpose of the
database
– this will determine what information you
want from the database.
– From this, you can determine what
subjects you need to store facts about (the
tables) and what facts you need to store
about each subject (the fields/attributes of
the tables)
Steps
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2. determine the tables
– can be the trickiest step in the database
design process.
– The reports you want to print, the forms
you want to use, the questions you want
answered - don't necessarily provide clues
about the structure of the tables that
produce them.
– These things tell you what you want to
know, but not how to categorize the
information into tables.
Steps
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3. determine the fields (attributes)
– decide what you need to know about the
people, things, or events recorded in the
table.
– Fields/attributes - describe characteristics
of the table.
– Each record/row in the table contains the
same set of fields
– Each field in the table should relate directly
to the subject of the table.
Steps
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4. Determine the primary key
– the power in a relational database
management system
– comes from its ability to quickly search for,
find and bring together information stored
in separate tables.
– To do this, each table in the database
should include a field or set of fields that
uniquely identifies each individual row in
the table.
– This is called a primary key.
Steps
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5. determine the relationships
– Once information has been divided into
tables, you need a way to bring it back
together again in meaningful ways.
– You create relationships between the
tables in your database.
– The DBMS uses the relationships to find
associated information stored in the tables.
Steps
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To set up a relationship between two
tables - Table A and Table B
– you add one table's primary key to the
other table, so that it appears in both
tables.
Steps
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6. refine your design
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test your design by entering some
records in each table - look at
relationships.
Fix database where necessary.
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Trends in Database Management
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Distributed databases
data warehouses
data mining
Distributed processing and
distributed data bases
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distributed processing
– the distribution of computer processing
– among multiple geographically or
functionally separate locations
– linked by a communications network
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distributed database - one that is stored
in more than one physical location
A System with a Distributed Database
Site 1
Site 3
.
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Database
Fragment 1
Telecommunications
Network
Database
Fragment 3
Site 2
Users have
access to the
entire database
over the network
.
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.
Database
Fragment 2
Distributed Data Bases
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data are placed where they are used
most often but entire database available
to each user
enable structure of the database to
mirror the structure of the org.
– traffic on the network is lessened bec. data
maintained where they are used the most
Data warehouses
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Subject-oriented, integrated collection of
data, both internal and external
data accumulated over time
maintained to support decision making
Data warehouses
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Objective
– to continually select data from operational
databases
– transform the data into a uniform format
– open warehouse to endusers through an
easy-to-use interface
Power of data warehouses
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Offer users analytical tools such as
decision support systems and on-line
analytical processing for data mining
Data mining
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Automated discovery of potentially
significant relationships among various
categories of data
use specialized software
e.g. an insurance company discovers
the best predictors of the frequency of a
certain type of claim