Database Management Systems

(DBMS)

Hsci 391 - Computer Applications in Health Science

California State University Northridge
Characteristics of Database
Management Systems (DBMS)
 A Database is a collection of one or
more tables.
 A table is a collection of records.
– A record is a collection of pieces of
information (fields or variables) about
someone or something.
– Records are similar to the concept of
ROWS in a spreadsheet.
DBMS Characteristics
 Fields are similar to the concept of
columns in a spreadsheet
– Fields can be used in boolean logic
statements to generate a query.
 The structure of a table must be pre-
defined before any data can be input into
not
 Not as free-form as a spreadsheet.
Differences between DBMS’ and
Spreadsheets
 Spreadsheets hold a limited amount of
information.
– Maximum number of records in Excel is
about 65,000
 DBMS capacity is only limited by the
computer.
 DBMS’ are much faster at finding and
manipulating databases.
Types of Fields
 Fields have to be pre-defined before
data can be input. Types include:
– Numeric - can only contain numeric values
– Character - can contain anything but
cannot be used for math calculations
– Date - used to hold and manipulate dates
– Logical - 2 possible values (Yes or No)
– Memo - can be a document or an object.
Year 2000 Date Problem
 In order to save space in databases dates were only
entered using the last two digits of the year EG.
– 07/13/97 instead of 07/13/1997
– Many programs only know to look at 2 digits
 At 12/31/2001 computers will be unable to distinguish
the year 1900 from 2000 for these dates.
 How to fix
– Windowing
– Manual fixes
2 Types of Databases
 Flat File Database
– Consists of only one table
 Relational Database
– Consists of two r more inter-related tables
linked by a common field.
 A class attendance database
FirstName LastName Address Bdate SSN LastClass
Joe Smith 123 Main Street 1/2/85 123-456-789 5/1/97
Joe Smith 123 Main Street 1/2/85 123-456-789 6/4/96
Joe Smith 123 Main Street 1/2/85 123-456-789 6/4/94
Larry Jone 3445 Oak Ave. 2/6/70 123-456-790 8/1/89
Larry Jone 3445 Oak Ave. 2/6/70 123-456-790 8/9/98
Larry Jone 3445 Oak Ave. 2/6/70 123-456-790 9/1/97
Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. 3/5/69 123-456-791 2/4/96
Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. 3/5/69 123-456-791 2/4/95
Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. 3/5/69 123-456-791 2/6/91
Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. 3/5/69 123-456-791 7/2/95
Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr. 6/1/79 123-456-792 9/2/95
Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr. 6/1/79 123-456-792 11/1/98
Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr. 6/1/79 123-456-792 8/6/99
Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln. 8/3/58 123-456-793 2/1/99
Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln. 8/3/58 123-456-793 2/6/98
Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln. 8/3/58 123-456-793 6/5/97
 Re lational Exam ple

FirstName LastName Address Bdate SSN

SSN LastClass
Joe Smith 123 Main Street 1/2/85 123-456-789
123-456-7899 05/01/97
Larry Jone 3445 Oak Ave. 2/6/70 123-456-790 123-456-7899 06/04/96
Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. 3/5/69 123-456-791 123-456-7899 06/04/94
Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr. 6/1/79 123-456-792 123-456-7901 08/01/89
123-456-7901 08/09/98
Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln. 8/3/58 123-456-793 123-456-7901 09/01/97
123-456-7910 02/04/96
123-456-7910 02/04/95
Static information is kept in its own table, linked 123-456-7910 02/06/91
123-456-7910 07/02/95
by a key field, and used as a lookup table. 123-456-7921 06/02/95
This means: 123-456-7921
123-456-7921
11/01/98
08/06/99
Static information is entered only one time 123-456-7930 02/01/99
123-456-7930 02/06/98
Smaller file sizes 123-456-7930 06/05/97
Address and other changes need only be made in
one place
Less likelihood of error
Lower cost of data input
Relational Databases
 Only useful when there are repetitive
records.
 Save Space
 Save Data Input time and cost
 Lower probability of error
 Require a unique key field in order to
link.
Changing the order of records -
Two Methods
 Sorting
– A copy of the table is made with records in
the new order
 Indexing
– A small file is generated which keeps track
of each record based on what position it
should be in.
– Allows faster “Seeks” to be performed
Indexing
FirstName LastName Address
1 Joe Smith 123 Main Street
2 Larry Jone 3445 Oak Ave. Original
3 Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd. Table
4 Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr.
5 Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln.

4 Smith
1 Jone
5 Williams
2 Keating Index Key
3 Lou

FirstName LastName Address

2 Larry Jones 3445 Oak Ave.
4 Jim Keating 2343 Cypress Dr. Indexed
5 Mary Lou 4353 Redwood Ln. Table
1 Joe Smith 123 Main Street
3 Fred Williams 5632 Walnut Blvd.
Considerations in Creating
Databases
 Attention to initial design - is everything you
will need in there?
 Procedure to ensure consistency and integrity
 Eliminate redundancy between data collection
and data entry
 Ensure access for those who need it.
 Protect sensitive data from inappropriate
access.