Databases Flashcards
Record
Row/Collection of fields that relate to the same item
Primary Key
Field that is unique for every record
Key field
Key field
Field which is unique for every record
Primary key
Composite key
Primary key consisting of two or more fields
One field can not be used for identification
But when combined
Data Type
Determines the sort of data that can be stored
Database
Organized collections of related data stored in organized manner
Business data (example)
Costumer information
Product data
Supplier details
Transport Data (Examples)
Flight Info
Train Info
Search Engine (Example)
Google, Yahoo
Social Networks (Example)
Facebook, LinkedIN
Online Databases (Example)
Wikipedia
Government Databases (Examples)
Criminal Record
Tax record
Privacy (Definition)
Ability of individuals to be able to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about themselves is shared with others
Data Integrity (Definition)
Safeguarding accuracy and completeness of stored data
Validation
To only allow data of the described data type
Secondary key
Not unique but for search tasks/ field by which a database is often searched
Index/Alternative key
Index
not unique but for search tasks/ field by which a database is often searched
Secondary key/alternative key
DBMS
Database Management System
RDBMS
Relational Database Management System
Difference Spreadsheetsoftware/Database
Spreadsheet: processing and calculation of numerical data
Database: organizing and storing large amounts of data
Foreign key
Field whose sole purpose is to form part of a relationship with another table
Alternative key
not unique but for search tasks/ field by which a database is often searched
Secondary key/Index
Data redundancy
Data which is needlessly dublicated
Flat File Database
Database which consists of one table
Relational Database
Database containing multiple related tables and no redundant data
Boolean Operators
AND, OR, and NOT operator used in a query
Structured Query
language for managing databases by typing commands
Form
screen used to input into a datbase
Comma Separated Values (CSV)
File format for transferring data, which stores fields and records in a plain text file, separated by commas
Data warehouse
vast databases containing many gigabytes of data
Data types (examples)
Short text, long text, number, date
Data Matching
Combining several databases to build up more information about a person or group
Data Mining
Searching collections of data for hidden patterns
Data Protection Act
UK law that governs the collection and use of personal data
Consistency Check
Validation check in which two fields’ values are mutually dependent
Difference Validation/Verification
Validation: Checks to ensure data is in the correct format
Verification: Checks to ensure data is correct
Normalization
Process of converting a database from a flat file to a relational database
Field
smallest piece of information in a database
Query
method of extracting data from a database that matches specific criteria
Table
Collection of records
