Database Systems: Lesson 1 Flashcards
What is data?
Data is raw facts, it is unprocessed information.
What is information?
It is the data processed to reveal meaning.
What is the key to making good decisions?
Accurate and relevant information
What is a database and what does it store?
It is a very large integrated computer structure that stores end-user data and metadata.
What is meta data?
It is data about data
What does DBMS stand for?
Database management system
List 2 advantages of the DBMS
Users have access to more and better managed data.
Probability of data inconsistency is greatly reduced.
List the 5 types of databases
- single user
- desktop
- multi user
- workgroup
- enterprise
What are the 2 databases that are classified by location?
Centralized and distributed
What are the 2 types of databases that are classified by use?
Transactional(production) and data warehouse.
List 2 reasons why database design is important
To avoid redundant data and a poorly designed database can cause errors that lead to bad decisions.
When converting from manual to computer systems, who should you hire?
Data processing specialist
What is structural dependence?
Access a file depends on its structure
What is data dependence?
Changes in the data storage characteristics without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data
What is logical data format?
How the human being views the data
What is physical data format?
How the computer sees the data
What is data redundancy?
It exist when the same data is stored unnecessarily at different places.
Uncontrolled data redundancy sets a stage for what 3 things?
Data inconsistency, poor data security and data anomalies.
What are the 3 different anomalies?
Update anomalies, insertion anomalies and deletion anomalies.
A database system is composed out of 5 components, what are they?
Hardware, software, people, procedures and data
What are the 5 types of users in a database system
System administrator, database administrator, database designer, system analyst and programmers, end users
What are the 9 functions of the DBMS
- -Data dictionary management
- -data storage management
- -data transformation and presentation
- -security management
- -multi-user access control
- -backup and recovery management
- -data integrity management
- -database access languages and application programming interfaces
- -database communication interfaces
