Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Databases, Data and Information

Data needs to be correct to be of any use as Information.

Valuable information should have the following characteristics, Accurate, Verifiable, Timely, Organized, Accessible, Useful, Cost-effective.

Data is organized into layers - Files, Records, Fields & Characters.

A record is a group of related fields - A primary key uniquely identifies each record.
A data file is a collection of related records.

File maintenance refers to the procedures that keep data current - Adding records, modifying records & deleting records.

Maintaining Data requires validation - Compares data with a set of rules or values to find out if data is correct.

An example of a file processing system is a Spread Sheet.

File Processing System can be an Excel Spreadsheet. These have been used for many years and have data redundancy and allow data to be isolated.

A Database Approach is a program where users share data. It reduces data redundancy and allows for easier access. One vulnerability to a Database is access to a database can be breached by malicious hackers.

Database Management Systems provides several tools that allow users and programs to retrieve and maintain data in the database - Query language, Query by Example, Form, Report Generator.

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