The Database Environment: Basic Concepts, Organizational Issues and Database Models

Copyright © Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. & Dr. Chen, Business Database Systems

The Database Environment:Basic Concepts, Organizational

Issues and Database Models

Jason C. H. Chen, Ph.D.Professor of MIS

School of Business AdministrationGonzaga UniversitySpokane, WA 99258

chen@jepson.gonzaga.edu

A Relationship Between the Organization and the DataBase

OrganizationalIS Resources:

PictureOr

Model

OldState

NewState

Activities

DataBaseManagement

SystemsCorrespond with the processing of the events

(Add, modify, delete, …)

Transactions

D.B.

Information must be:

User

Events

1. Hardware2. Software3. Data4. Procedures5. People

1. Time: Timely, 2. Content: Accurate, relevant, and verifiable.3. Form: Presented in a useable form.

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A Relationship Between the Organization and the DataBase

OrganizationalIS Resources:1. Hardware2. Software3. Data4. Procedures5. People

PictureOr

Model

OldState

Events

NewState

Activities

DataBaseManagement

Systems D.B.

Transactions

(Add, modify, delete, …)Correspond with the processing of the events

Information must be:1. Time: Timely, 2. Content: Accurate, relevant, and verifiable.3. Form: Presented in a useable form.

User

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What is Information ?

DATA

Information is refined data.

INFORMATION

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Data vs. Information

• Users really want is– Information

i What users can learn from the datavhow to satisfy their best customersvhow to allocate their resources most efficiently,vhow to minimize losses

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Are they Data Bases?

• MS/Access, MS/SQL Server• ORACLE• IBM/DB2• etc.

Why don’t we just create a huge data file contain ALL fields?

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What Is a Database and DBMS?• A database is an organized collection of

logically related and integrated data files. • Models real-world enterprise.

– Entities (e.g., students, courses)– Relationships (e.g. Scott is taking bmis441)– A Database Management System (DBMS) is a

software package designed to store and manage databases.

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Objectives of the MISDeliver the right informationto the right people,at the right time,with the right form.

Ultimately, MIS should improve the workers’ productivity.

who has what information about whom and when, where, and how will all be decided in the process of building an information system.

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Why Study Databases??• Shift from computation to information• Datasets increasing in diversity and volume.

– Digital libraries, interactive video, Human Genome project

– ... need for DBMS exploding• DBMS encompasses many business applications • These days, practically everything is built around

a database.• If you understand how databases work, you

understand how a lot of business function

?

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Data Models• A data model is a collection of concepts for

describing data.

CUSTOMER ORDER

• Three database models– Hierarchical– Network– Relational

Type of Database Model

Processing Efficiency

Flexibility

End-User Friendliness

Programming Complexity

Hierarchical

High

Low

Low

High

Network

Medium-High

Low-medium

Low-moderate

High

Relational

Lower but improving

High

High

Low

Comparison of Three Database Models

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