Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
MODULE
1 DATABASE INTRODUCTION
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this module describes the basic concepts necessary for a good understanding of database
design and implementation, as well as the conceptual modeling techniques used in database systems.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module you should be able to:
1. Describe the fundamental elements of relational database management systems.
2. Familiar with basic database storage structures and access techniques: file and page
Organizations.
3. Explain the basic concepts of relational data model, entity-relationship model, relational
database design, relational algebra.
1.1. INTRODUCTION TO DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The word database is in such common use that we must begin by defining what a database is. Our initial
definition is quite general. A database is a collection of related data. By data, we mean known facts that can
be recorded and that have implicit meaning.
The preceding definition of database is quite general; for example, we may consider the collection of words
that make up this page of text to be related data and hence to constitute a database. However, the common
use of the term database is usually more restricted. A database has the following implicit properties:
• A database represents some aspect of the real world, sometimes called the miniworld or the universe of
discourse (DoD). Changes to the miniworld are reflected in the database.
• A database is a logically coherent collection of data with some inherent meaning. A random assortment of
data cannot correctly be referred to as a database.
• A database is designed, built, and populated with data for a specific purpose. It has an intended group of
users and some preconceived applications in which these users are interested.
A database can be of any size and of varying complexity. For example, the list of names and addresses
referred to earlier may consist of only a few hundred records, each with a simple structure. On the other
hand, the computerized catalog of a large library may contain half a million entries organized under different
categories-by primary author's last name, by subject, by book title-with each category organized in
alphabetic order.
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Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
A database management system (DBMS) is a collection of programs that enables users to create and maintain
a database. The DBMS is hence a general-purpose software system that facilitates the processes of defining,
constructing, manipulating, and sharing databases among various users and applications.
Defining a database involves specifying the data types, structures, and constraints for the data to be stored in
the database.
Constructing the database is the process of storing the data itself on some storage medium that is controlled
by the DBMS.
Manipulating a database includes such functions as querying the database to retrieve specific data, updating
the database to reflect changes in the miniworld, and generating reports from the data. Sharing a database
allows multiple users and programs to access the database concurrently.
Other important functions provided by the DBMS include protecting the database and maintaining it over a
long period of time. Protection includes both system protection against hardware or software malfunction
(or crashes), and security protection against unauthorized or malicious access. A typical large database may
have a life cycle of many years, so the DBMS must be able to maintain the database system by allowing the
system to evolve as requirements change over time. Database manipulation involves querying and updating.
A simplified View of a Database Environment
http://cs.boisestate.edu/~jhyeh/cs410/cs410_bookfigures_ch01.pdf
Characteristic of a Database Approach
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Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
A number of characteristics distinguish the database approach from the traditional approach of
programming with files. In traditional file processing, each user defines and implements the files needed for a
specific software application as part of programming the application.
In the database approach, a single repository of data is maintained that is defined once and then is accessed
by various users. The main characteristics of the database approach versus the file-processing approach are
the following:
• Self-describing nature of a database system
• Insulation between programs and data, and data abstraction
• Support of multiple views of the data
• Sharing of data and multiuser transaction processing
A fundamental characteristic of the database approach is that the database system contains not only the
database itself but also a complete definition or description of the database structure and constraints.
This definition is stored in the DBMS catalog, which contains information such as the structure of each file,
the type and storage format of each data item, and various constraints on the data. The information stored in
the catalog is called meta-data, and it describes the structure of the primary database.
A general-purpose DBMS software package is not written for a specific database application, and hence it
must refer to the catalog to know the structure of the files in a specific database, such as the type and format
of data it will access. The DBMS software must work equally well with any number of database application.
An operation (also called a function or method) is specified in two parts. The interface (or signature) of an
operation includes the operation name and the data types of its arguments (or parameters). The
implementation (or method) of the operation is specified separately and can be changed without affecting
the interface.
User application programs can operate on the data by invoking these operations through their names and
arguments, regardless of how the operations are implemented. This may be termed program-operation
independence.
The characteristic that allows program-data independence and program-operation independence is called
data abstraction. A DBMS provides users with a conceptual representation of data that does not include many
of the details of how the data is stored or how the operations are implemented.
Informally, a data model is a type of data abstraction that is used to provide this conceptual representation.
The data model uses logical concepts, such as objects, their properties, and their interrelationships, that may
Copyright Disclaimer
Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
be easier for most users to understand than computer storage concepts. Hence, the data model hides storage
and implementation details that are not of interest to most database users.
Actors on the Scene
In any organization where many persons use the same resources, there is a need for a chief administrator to
oversee and manage these resources. In a database environment, the primary resource is the database itself,
and the secondary resource is the DBMS and related software.
Administering these resources is the responsibility of the database administrator (DBA). The DBA is
responsible for authorizing access to the database, for coordinating and monitoring its use, and for acquiring
software and hardware resources as needed.
Database designers are responsible for identifying the data to be stored in the database and for choosing
appropriate structures to represent and store this data. These tasks are mostly undertaken before the
database is actually implemented and populated with data.
Database designers typically interact with each potential group of users and develop views of the database
that meet the data and processing requirements of these groups. Each view is then analyzed and integrated
with the views of other user groups. The final database design must be capable of supporting the
requirements of all user groups.
End users are the people whose jobs require access to the database for querying, updating, and generating
reports; the database primarily exists for their use. There are several categories of end users:
Casual end users occasionally access the database, but they may need different information each
time. They use a sophisticated database query language to specify their requests and are typically
middle- or high-level managers or other occasional browsers.
Naive or parametric end users make up a sizable portion of database end users. Their main job
function revolves around constantly querying and updating the database, using standard types of
queries and updates-called canned transactions-that have been carefully programmed and tested.
The tasks that such users perform are varied:
o Bank tellers check account balances and post withdrawals and deposits.
o Reservation clerks fur airlines, hotels, and car rental companies check availability for
a given request and make reservations.
Clerks at receiving stations for courier mail enter package identifications via bar codes and
descriptive information through buttons to update a central database of received and in-transit
packages.
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Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
Sophisticated end users include engineers, scientists, business analysts, and others who thoroughly
familiarize themselves with the facilities of the DBMS so as to implement their applications to meet
their complex requirements.
Stand-alone users maintain personal databases by using ready-made program packages that provide
easy-to-use menu-based or graphics-based interfaces.
In addition to those who design, use, and administer a database, others are associated with the design,
development, and operation of the DBMS software and system environment. These persons are typically not
interested in the database itself. We call them the "workers behind the scene," and they include the following
categories.
DBMS system designers and implementers are persons who design and implement the DBMS
modules and interfaces as a software package. A DBMS is a very complex software system that
consists of many components, or modules, including modules for implementing the catalog,
processing query language, processing the interface, accessing and buffering data, controlling
concurrency, and handling data recovery and security. The DBMS must interface with other system
software, such as the operating system and compilers for various programming languages.
Tool developers include persons who design and implement tools-the software packages that
facilitate database system design and use and that help improve performance. Tools are optional
packages that are often purchased separately. They include packages for database design,
performance monitoring, natural language or graphical interfaces, prototyping, simulation, and test
data generation. In many cases, independent software vendors develop and market these tools.
Operators and maintenance personnel are the system administration personnel who are responsible
for the actual running and maintenance of the hardware and software environment for the database
system.
Advantage of Using DBMS
Redundancy in storing the same data multiple times leads to several problems.
First, there is the need to perform a single logical update-such as entering data on a new student-multiple
times: once for each file where student data is recorded. This leads to duplication of effort.
Second, storage space is wasted when the same data is stored repeatedly, and this problem may be serious
for large databases.
Third, files that represent the same data may become inconsistent. This may happen because an update is
applied to some of the files but not to others.
Copyright Disclaimer
Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
Even if an update-such as adding a new student-is applied to all the appropriate files, the data concerning the
student may still be inconsistent because the updates are applied independently by each user group.
However, in practice, it is sometimes necessary to use controlled redundancy for improving the performance
of queries.
Restricting Unauthorized Access
When multiple users share a large database, it is likely that most users will not be authorized to access all
information in the database. Hence, the type of access operation-retrieval or update-must also be controlled.
Typically, users or user groups are given account numbers protected by passwords, which they can use to
gain access to the database.
A DBMS should provide a security and authorization subsystem, which the DBA uses to create accounts and
to specify account restrictions. The DBMS should then enforce these restrictions automatically. Notice that
we can apply similar controls to the DBMS software. For example, only the DBA's staff may be allowed to use
certain privileged software, such as the software for creating new accounts.
Providing Storage Structures for Efficient Query Processing
Database systems must provide capabilities for efficiently executing queries and updates. Because the
database is typically stored on disk, the DBMS must provide specialized data structures to speed up disk
search for the desired records. Auxiliary files called indexes are used for this purpose. Indexes are typically
based on tree data structures or hash data structures, suitably modified for disk search.
The query processing and optimization module of the DBMS is responsible for choosing an efficient query
execution plan for each query based on the existing storage structures. The choice of which indexes to create
and maintain is part of physical database design and tuning, which is one of the responsibilities of the DBA
staff.
Providing Backup and Recovery
A DBMS must provide facilities for recovering from hardware or software failures. The backup and recovery
subsystem of the DBMS is responsible for recovery. For example, if the computer system fails in the middle of
a complex update transaction, the recovery subsystem is responsible for making sure that the database is
restored to the state it was in before the transaction started executing. Alternatively, the recovery subsystem
could ensure that the transaction is resumed from the point at which it was interrupted so that its full effect
is recorded in the database.
Copyright Disclaimer
Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
WHEN NOT TO USE A DBMS
In spite of the advantages of using a DBMS, there are a few situations in which such a system may involve
unnecessary overhead costs that would not be incurred in traditional file processing. The overhead costs of
using a DBMS are due to the following:
• High initial investment in hardware, software, and training
• The generality that a DBMS provides for defining and processing data
• Overhead for providing security, concurrency control, recovery, and integrity functions
Additional problems may arise if the database designers and DBA do not properly design the database or if
the database systems applications are not implemented properly.
Hence, it may be more desirable to use regular files under the following circumstances:
• The database and applications are simple, well defined, and not expected to change.
• There are stringent real-time requirements for some programs that may not be met because of DBMS
overhead.
• Multiple-user access to data is not required.
Copyright Disclaimer
Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
Name Score
Section Instructor Date
ACTIVITY 1
I. Answer the following using not less than 50 words.
1. Define the following terms in your own words: Data, Database, DBMS, Database system, Database
Catalog, program-data independence, user view, DBA, end user, canned transaction, deductive
database system, persistent object, meta-data, transaction-processing application.
2. What three main types of actions involve databases! Briefly discuss each.
Use the matrix grading for your reference.
CRITERIA 5 POINTS 3 POINTS 1 POINT
Ideas This answer is clear and The writer is beginning to define As yet, the answer has no clear
focused. It holds the reader's the topic, even though sense of purpose or central
attention. Relevant details and development is still basic or theme. To extract meaning from
quotes enrich the central general. the text, the reader must make
theme. inferences based on sketchy or
missing details.
Organization The organization enhances The organizational structure is The writing lacks a clear sense of
and showcases the central strong enough to move the reader direction. Ideas, details, or events
idea or theme. The order, through the text without too much seem strung together in a loose
structure of information is confusion. or random fashion; there is no
compelling and moves the identifiable internal structure.
reader through the text.
Sentence The writing has an easy flow, The text hums along with a steady The reader has to practice quite a
Fluency rhythm, and cadence. beat, but tends to be more bit in order to give this paper a fair
Sentences are well built, with businesslike than musical, more interpretive reading.
strong and varied structure mechanical than fluid.
that invites expressive oral
reading.
Presentation The form and presentation of The writer's message is The reader receives a garbled
the text enhances the ability understandable in this format. message due to problems relating
for the reader to understand to the presentation of the text,
and connect with the and is not typed
message. It is pleasing to the
eye.
SAMPLE ANSWER KEY
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Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
#1 Definitions of following terms:
Data: Data is a relative entity or object. Ex-name, age, class.
Database: A Database is a collection of related data with an implicit meaning.
DBMS: A database management system is a software system that helps users to create and maintains a
database. This system contains the processes of defining, constructing, manipulating and sharing databases
from various users and applications.
Database System: Data base system is nothing but database and DBMS software together we call as data
base system.
Database catalog: Database catalog contains information such as the structure of each file, the type and
storage format of each data item and various constraints on the data.
Program-data independence: The structure of data files is stored in the DBMS catalog separately from the
access programs is known as program – data independence.
User view: It is the view that may be a subset of the database or it contains virtual data is derived from the
database files but is not explicitly stored.
DBA: Database Administrator is an administrator who is responsible for authorizing access to the
database. DBA manages and coordinates the resources and acquires software and hardware resources.
End-user: An end user is a person whose job requires access to the database for querying, updating and
generating the reports.
Canned transaction: The main aim of canned transaction is using standard types of queries and updates for
querying and updating database.
Deductive database systems: This type of database systems provides capability for defining deduction rules
for new information from the stored database.
Persistent object: Persistent means object is stored permanently in an object –oriented DBMS and it
survives to terminate the program execution and then retrieved directly by another program.
Meta-data: It is information about structure of each file, type and storage format of each data and various
constraints on the data is called meta-data.
Transaction-processing application: This application is designed to maintain database integrity in a
known, consistent state.
#2 The three main types of actions involved in databases are as follows.
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Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Computing and Engineering
1ST SEMESTER 2020 – 2021
Defining a Database : In this action, you define the type of database and its structure, also called as meta
data / data dictionary of the database.
Constructing a Database : The physical database is created and the data is stored in this action.
Manipulating a Database : You can query, retrieve, read, update, delete or modify stored in the database.
It includes deleting / dropping the database also.
Copyright Disclaimer
Fair use of a Copyrighted Work as defined in section 185 of RA 8293, which states, “The fair use of copying, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies
for classroom use, research and similar purposes is not infringement of copyright.” These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely for students of Pamantasan ng
Cabuyao (PnC) under the College of Computing and Engineering enrolled in Database Management System for AY 2020-2021.
Page 10
