Vocab. Ch. 1-3 Flashcards
Redundancy
The duplication of data or the storing of the same data in more than one place.
database
A structure that contains information about many different categories of information and about the relationships between those categories.
entity
A person, place, object, event, ore idea for which you want to store and process data.
attribute
A characteristic or property of an entity.
relationship
An association between relationships.
one-to-many relationship
One entity is associated with many other entities.
data file
A file that is used to store data.
database
A structure that can store information about multiple types of entities, the attributes of those entities, and the relationship between the entities.
entity-relationship (E-R) diagram
In and E-R diagram, rectangles represent entities, and lines represent relationships between connected entities. The dot at the end of a line represents the “many” part of a one-to-many relationship.
database management system (DBMS)
A program, or a collection of programs, through which users interact with a database.
database design
The process of determining the structure of a database.
forms
Screen objects used to maintain, view, and print data from a database.
9 Advantages of Database Processing
1) Getting more info from the same amount of data
2) Sharing data
3) Balancing conflicting requirements
4) Controlling Redundancy
5) Facilitating consistency
6) Improving integrity
7) Expanding security
8) Increasing productivity
9) Providing data independence
database administrator
Also known as Database Administration (DBA) -
A person or group that keeps the overall needs of the entire organization in mind so that the database can be structured in such a way that it benefits the entire organization, not just a single group and there by balances conflicting requirements.
integrity constraint
A rule that data must follow in the database.
integrity
Maintained by the database because all data in it must satisfy all established integrity constraints.
security
The prevention of unauthorized access to the database.
data independence
A property of a DBMS that lets you change the structure of a database without requiring you to change the programs that access the database.
4 Disadvantages of Database Processing
1) Larger file size
2) Increased complexity
3) Greater impact of failure
4) More difficult recovery
field
A single characteristic or attribute of a person, place, object, event, or idea.
table
A collection of fields that describes a person, place, object, event, or idea.
field value
The specific content of a field
record
A set of field values for a specific entity.
relational database
A collection of related tables.