5.9. Summary
Key Takeaways
- Data is made up of facts of the world. You must process data to get information.
- A database is an organized collection of related data.
- A database management system (DBMS) is a software application that is used to create and manage databases, and can take the form of a personal DBMS, used by one person, or an enterprise DBMS that can be used by multiple users
- Relational databases are the most widely used type of database, where data is structured into tables and all tables must be related to each other through unique identifiers.
- Designing a relational database involves determining how the data is organized into tables, setting primary keys and creating relationships among the tables.
- Normalization is the process of designing a database to reduce redundancy and ensure integrity.
- The database approach allows for the control of redundant data, data integrity, data sharing, and security and recovery.
- There are many data types, and it is important to use the correct one.
Exercises
- What is metadata?
- Explain in your own words how the data component relates to the hardware and software components of information systems.
- What is a database management system and how does it work?
- What is the difference between a spreadsheet and a database? List three differences between them.
- What are the characteristics of a relational database?
- Outline the steps of the data hierarchy using an example.
- How do you go about choosing a primary key? What are some of the characteristics you would look for?
- Describe what the term normalization means.
- What are the benefits of using the database approach?
- What language can be used to create queries in databases?
- Why is it important to define the data type of a field when designing a relational database?
- Name a database you interact with frequently. What would some of the field names be?
Assignment
Overview
This assignment is designed to help you understand how to model a relational database.
Assignment
- Using the data in the Cake Order Database, decide what tables of data could be created, and what fields would be included in the tables.
- Identify what field would serve as the primary key for the tables.
- Create an entity relationship diagram showing the tables (with fields) and relationships among the tables.
- What other data could be included in this database? What benefits are there from organizing the data this way as opposed to in an Excel file?
