Database System : Concepts and Design
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1.1 Meaning and Definition of Database :
An entity may be concrete as person or book, or it may be abstract such as a loan
or a holiday or a concept. Entities are the basic units of objects which can have concrete
existence or constitute ideas or concepts. An entity set is a set of entities of the same type
that share the same properties or attributes .
An entity is represented by set of attributes. An attribute is also referred as data
item, data element , data field, etc. Attributes are descriptive properties possessed by each
member of an entity set. A groping of related entities becomes an entity set.
For ex : In a library environment,
Entity Set -Catalogue –
Entity -of Books, Journals, AV-Materials, etc
Attributes – contains Author, Title, Imprint, Accn. No., ISBN, etc.
The word ‘DATA’ means a fact or more specially a value of attribute of an entity.
An entity in general, may be an object, idea, event, condition or situation. A set of
attributes describes an entity. Information in a form which can be processed by a raw
computer is called data. Data are raw material of information.
The term ‘BASE’ means the support, foundation or key ingredient of anything.
Therefore base supports data.
A ‘DATABASE’ can be conceived as a system whose base, whose key concept, is
simply a particular way of handling data. In other words, a database is nothing more than
a computer-based record keeping. The objective of database is to record and maintain
information. The primary function of the database is the service and support of
information system which satisfies cost.
In short, ” A database is an organized collection of related information stored with
minimum redundancy, in a manner that makes them accessible for multiple application”.
Definition :
1. Prakash Naveen : “Database is a mechanized shared formally defined and central
collection of data used in an organization”.
2. J.M.Martin : ” Database is a collection of inter-related data stored together without
harmful or unnecessary redundancy to serve multiple application”.
3. Mac-Millan dictionary of Information Technology : defines a database as a ” a
collection of inter-related data stored so that it may be accessed by authorized users with
simple user-friendly dialogues”.
1.2 Functions of Database :
The general theme behind a database, is to handle information as an integrated whole.
The general objective is to make information access easy, quick, inexpensive and flexible
for the user.
Controlled redundancy : Redundant data occupies space and therefore is wasteful.
By controlled redundancy, system performance is improved.
User-friendly (i.e. ease to learning and use) : A major feature of a user-friendly
database package is how easy it is to learn and use.