Chapter 7 - Storing Organizational Information - Database


RELATIONAL DATABASE FUNDAMENTALS

 -    Information is everywhere in an organization
-  Information is stored in databases

Ø   Database – maintains information about various types of objects (inventory), events (transactions), people (employees), and places (warehouses)
 -     Database models include;

Ø   Hierarchical database model – information is organized into a tree-like structure (using parent/child relationships) in such a way that it cannot have too many relationships.




         Ø  Network database model – a flexible way of representing objects and their relationships


        Ø  Relational database model – stores information in the form of logically related two-dimensional tables















ENTITIES AND ATTRIBUTES 

-    Entity – a person, place, thing, transaction, or event about which information is stored
Ø  The rows in each table contains the entities 

-    Attributes (fields, columns) – characteristics or properties of an entity class
Ø  The columns in each table contain the attributes

KEYS AND RELATIONSHIPS

-    Primary keys and foreign keys identity the various entity classes (tables) in the database
Ø  Primary key – a fields (or group of fields) that uniquely identities a given entity in a table

Ø  Foreign key – a primary key of one table that appears an attribute in another table and acts to provide a logical relationships among the two tables 


RELATIONAL DATABASE ADVANTAGES 

-    Database advantages from a business perspective include; 
Ø  Increased flexibility
Ø  Increased scalability and performance 
Ø  Reduced information redundancy
Ø  Increased information integrity (quality)
Ø  Increased information security

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY

-     A well-designed database should; 
Ø  Handle changes quickly and easily 
Ø  Provide users with different views 
Ø  Have only one physical views 
§  Physical view – deals with the physical storage of information on a storage device 
Ø  Have multiple logical views 
§  Logical view – focuses on how users logically access information 

INCREASED SCALABILITY AND PERFORMANCE 

-      A database must scale to meet increased demand, while maintaining acceptable performance levels 
Ø  Scalability – refers to how well a system can adapt to increased demands 
Ø  Performance – measures how quickly a system performs a certain process or transaction

REDUCED INFORMATION REDUNDANCY

-      Databases reduce information redundancy
Ø  Redundancy – the duplication of information or storing the same information in multiple places
-     Inconsistency is one of the primary problems with redundant information 

INCREASED INFORMATION SECURITY 

-      Information is an organization asset and must be protected 
-      Databases offer several security features including; 
Ø  Password – provides authentication of the user
Ø  Access level – determines who has access to the different types of information
Ø  Access control – determines types of user access, such as read-only access 

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS


-     Database management systems (DBMS) – software through which users and application programs interact with a database


DATA-DRIVEN WEB SITES


-       Data-driven Web sites – an interactive Web site kept constantly updated and relevant to the needs of its   customers through the use of database


DATA-DRIVEN WEB SITE BUSINESS ADVANTAGES 

-         Development 
-         Content Management 
-         Future Expandability
-         Minimizing Human Error
-         Cutting Production and Update Costs
-         More Efficient
-         Improved Stability

DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS INTELLIGENT


-         BI in a data-driven Web site


INTEGRATING INFORMATION AMONG MULTIPLE DATABASES

-      Integration – allows separate systems to communicate directly with each other

Ø  Forward integration – takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all downstream systems and processes





          Ø  Backward integration – takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to    all upstream systems and processes

 -          Building a central repository specifically for integrated information


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