ARE 510 5 Databases

ARE 510
Dpt of Architectural Engineering

College of Environmental Design
KFUPM
D. Ouis
1st semester 2015
Like a library, secondary storage is used to store information.
How is this stored information organized?
Information systems consist of people, procedures,
software, hardware, and data.
In today’s world, and because of their versatility, databases
are found almost everywhere powering all sorts of projects:
 A medical record system for a health care facility

 Your personal address book in your e-mail client server
 A collection of word processed or spreadsheet
documents
 A system that issues airline reservations
Earlier, data was limited to characters (numbers, letters,
symbols). Nowadays, it even includes:
Audio files, music, images and photos, video recordings.
Two ways to view data: physical view and the logical view.
Physical view: the actual format and location of the data.
Logical view: its meaning, what we see on the PC screen
Data Organization
In the logical view, data is organized into groups or
categories:
• Character: It is the most basic logical data element. It is
a single letter, number, or special character.
• Field: a group of related characters. It is an attribute
of some entity (person, place, thing…).
• Record: a collection of related fields.
• Table: a collection of related records.
• Database: A database is an integrated collection of
logically related tables.
The database is an organized collection of data in the form
of related tables (payrolls, benefits, …) containing records
(for each employee).
Key Field
Each record in a database has at least one distinctive field,
the key field, or the primary key, and which makes that
tables can be inter-related by it. E.g. Employee’s id.
Batch versus Real-Time Processing

Data is processed in one of two ways.
Batch, “later,” and Real-time, “now.”
• Batch processing: data is collected over some time,

and It is then processed all at once as a “batch.”
• Real-time processing: or online processing, occurs

at the same time when the transaction occurs.
Databases
Records for the same customer may appear in different
files in the sales department, billing department, and credit
department: data redundancy. If the customer moves,
then the address in each file must be updated.
If tables are not simultaneously updated  a lack of data
integrity. A database can make the needed information
available from spread-out tables.
Need for Databases

For both individuals and organizations, there are many
advantages to having databases:
• Sharing: In organizations, information from one
department can be readily shared with others.
• Security: Users are given passwords or access only to

the kind of information they need.
• Less data redundancy: Without a common database,

individual departments have to create and maintain their
own data and data redundancy results.
• Data integrity: When there are multiple sources of data,

each source may have variations.
Database Management Software, DBMS.
What does “managing information” mean?
• Making information work for us
• Making information useful
• Avoiding “accidental disorganisation”
• Making information easily accessible and

integrated with the rest of our work
Database Management Software, DBMS:
Special software to create, modify, and gain access to a
database.
Some DBMSs, are designed specifically for microcompu-
ters while others are designed for specialized DB servers.
Known DBMSs: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server,…
A DB is not generally portable across different DBMSs.
DBMSs are classified according to the DB model that they
support, which mostly is of the relational type.
the DBMS software is made up of 5 parts or subsystems:
• The DBMS engine provides a bridge between the logical
view of the data and the physical view of the data. When
users request data (logical perspective), the DBMS engine
handles the details of actually locating the data (physical
perspective).
• The data definition subsystem defines the logical

structure of the database by using a data dictionary or
schema. This dictionary contains a description of the
structure of data in the database.
It defines the type of data for each field (text, numeric,
time, graphic, audio, and video).
• The data manipulation subsystem provides tools for
data maintenance (updating): adding, deleting and
editing.
Specific tools: query-byexample or specialized program-
ming languages: structured query languages (SQL).
• The application generation subsystem provides tools

to create data entry forms and specialized programming
languages that work with common and widely used
programming languages such as C or Visual Basic.
• The data administration subsystem helps to manage
the overall database (security, recovery support,
performance).
Larger organizations employ specialists, database
administrators (DBAs), who also determine processing
rights or determine which people have access to what in
the DB.
DBMS Structure
DBMS programs are designed to work with data that is
logically structured or arranged in a particular way. This
arrangement is known as the database model.
Hierarchical Database
Quite current before.
Here, fields or records are
structured in nodes, points
connected like the branches
of an upside-down tree.
Each entry has one parent
node, although a parent may
have several child nodes:
a one-to-many relationship.
Network Database
It also has a hierarchical arrangement of nodes.
However, each child node may have more than one parent
node: a many-to-many relationship. Additional con-
nections, or pointers between parent nodes and child
nodes. More flexible and efficient than the hierarchical
arrangement.
Relational Database
Proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970 (employee at IBM).
A more flexible type of organization. No hierarchy
structure, but tables, each consisting of rows and columns,
with each row having a unique “key”.
The key connects between tables at request.
A table and its data is called a relation.
For its simplicity it is the predominant type of database.

Managed by a RDBMS, and most often uses SQL as
language.
SQL term Relational Description
database term
Row Tuple or record A data set representing a single item
A labeled element of a tuple, e.g.

Column Attribute or field
"Address" or "Date of birth"
A set of tuples sharing the same
Table Relation
attributes; a set of columns and rows
Any set of tuples; a data report from
View or result set Derived relvar
the RDBMS in response to a query
Multidimensional Database
A variation and extension of the relational model.
Multidimensional databases extend the two-dimensional
data model to include additional dimensions: a data cube.
Advantages over relational DB.
1. Conceptualization: provide an intuitive model to
conceptualize complex data and relationships.
2. Processing speed: Much faster.
A typical 3D hypercube
A four-dimensional database structure
Object-Oriented Database
Since the early 1980s.
They are more flexible and store data with instructions to
manipulate the data.
Information is represented in the form of objects.
Data is organized according to:
• Classes: general definitions.
• Objects are specific instances of a class that can contain
both data and instructions to manipulate the data.
• Attributes are the data fields an object possesses.
• Methods: instructions for manipulating or retrieving attribute
values.
Example of a rectangle (object) with length and width
(attributes, or properties) and its area (method, or behavior)
Types of Databases
Databases may be small or large, limited in accessibility or
widely accessible.
4 types: individual, company, distributed, and commercial.
Individual
Or a microcomputer database to be used by just one
person.
The DBMS are under the direct control of the user.
They are stored either on the user’s HD or on a LAN file
server.
Company
May be stored on a central database server and
managed by a DB administrator. Users have access to
the DB through their microcomputers linked to LAN or
WAN.
Distributed
If data is stored in several locations, it is then made
accessible through a number of communications
networks.
DB servers on a client/server network provide the link
between the data.
Commercial
It is generally an enormous DB that an organization
develops to cover particular subjects.
It offers access to this database to the public or selected
outside individuals for a fee.
Sometimes also called information utilities or data
banks.
ERIC: started in 1968, includes:
• Journal articles
• Books
• Research syntheses
• Conference papers
• Technical reports
• Dissertations
• Policy papers
• Other education-related materials

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ARE 510

Dpt of Architectural Engineering

 A medical record system for a health care facility

Batch versus Real-Time Processing

• Batch processing: data is collected over some time,

• Real-time processing: or online processing, occurs

Need for Databases

• Security: Users are given passwords or access only to

• Less data redundancy: Without a common database,

• Data integrity: When there are multiple sources of data,

What does “managing information” mean?

• Making information work for us

• Making information useful

• Avoiding “accidental disorganisation”

• Making information easily accessible and

• The data definition subsystem defines the logical

• The application generation subsystem provides tools

For its simplicity it is the predominant type of database.

Row Tuple or record A data set representing a single item

A labeled element of a tuple, e.g.

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