Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B.
Navathe
CHAPTER 1
Databases and Database Users
Hamedah Ali Al-Shabani
Hamedahali598@[Link]
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 2
OUTLINE
Types of Databases and Database Applications
Basic Definitions
Typical DBMS Functionality
Example of a Database (UNIVERSITY)
Main Characteristics of the Database Approach
Types of Database Users
Advantages of Using the Database Approach
When Not to Use Databases
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 3
Types of Databases and Database
Applications
Traditional Applications:
Numeric and Textual Databases
More Recent Applications:
Multimedia Databases
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Biological and Genome Databases
Data Warehouses
Mobile databases
Real-time and Active Databases
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Basic Definitions
Database:
A collection of related data.
Data:
Known facts that can be recorded and have an implicit meaning.
Mini-world:
Some part of the real world about which data is stored in a
database. For example, student grades and transcripts at a
university.
Database Management System (DBMS):
A software package/ system to facilitate the creation and
maintenance of a computerized database.
Database System:
The DBMS software together with the data itself. Sometimes, the
applications are also included.
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 5
Impact of Databases and Database
Technology
Businesses: Banking, Insurance, Retail,
Transportation, Healthcare, Manufacturing
Service Industries: Financial, Electronic
Commerce, Small businesses
Education : Resources for content and Delivery
More recently: Social Networks, Environmental
and Scientific Applications, Medicine and
Genetics
Personalized Applications: based on smart
mobile devices
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Simplified database system environment
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Typical DBMS Functionality
Define a particular database in terms of its data types,
structures, and constraints
Construct or Load the initial database contents on a
secondary storage medium
Manipulating the database:
Retrieval: Querying, generating reports
Modification: Insertions, deletions and updates to its content
Accessing the database through Web applications
Processing and Sharing by a set of concurrent users and
application programs – yet, keeping all data valid and
consistent
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Application Activities Against a
Database
Applications interact with a database by
generating
- Queries: that access different parts of data and
formulate the result of a request
- Transactions: that may read some data and
“update” certain values or generate new data and
store that in the database
Applications must not allow unauthorized users to
access data
Applications must keep up with changing user
requirements against the database Slide 1- 9
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe
Additional DBMS Functionality
DBMS may additionally provide:
Protection or Security measures to prevent
unauthorized access
“Active” processing to take internal actions on data
Presentation and Visualization of data
Maintenance of the database and associated
programs over the lifetime of the database
application
Called database, software, and system
maintenance
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 10
Example of a Database
(with a Conceptual Data Model)
Mini-world for the example:
Part of a UNIVERSITY environment.
Some mini-world entities:
STUDENTs
COURSEs
SECTIONs (of COURSEs)
(academic) DEPARTMENTs
INSTRUCTORs
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Example of a Database
(with a Conceptual Data Model)
Some mini-world relationships:
SECTIONs are of specific COURSEs
STUDENTs take SECTIONs
COURSEs have prerequisite COURSEs
INSTRUCTORs teach SECTIONs
COURSEs are offered by DEPARTMENTs
STUDENTs major in DEPARTMENTs
Note: The above entities and relationships are typically
expressed in a conceptual data model, such as the
ENTITY-RELATIONSHIP data model (see Chapters 3, 4)
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Example of a simple database
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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach
Self-describing nature of a database system:
A DBMS catalog stores the description of a particular
database (e.g. data structures, types, and constraints)
The description is called meta-data*.
This allows the DBMS software to work with different
database applications.
Insulation between programs and data:
Called program-data independence.
Allows changing data structures and storage organization
without having to change the DBMS access programs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Some newer systems such as a few NOSQL systems need
no meta-data: they store the data definition within its structure
making it self describing Slide 1- 14
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe
Example of a simplified database catalog
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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
Data Abstraction:
A data model is used to hide storage details and
present the users with a conceptual view of the
database.
Programs refer to the data model constructs rather
than data storage details
Support of multiple views of the data:
Each user may see a different view of the
database, which describes only the data of
interest to that user.
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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
Sharing of data and multi-user transaction
processing:
Allowing a set of concurrent users to retrieve from and to
update the database.
Concurrency control within the DBMS guarantees that each
transaction is correctly executed or aborted
Recovery subsystem ensures each completed transaction
has its effect permanently recorded in the database
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is a major part of
database applications. This allows hundreds of concurrent
transactions to execute per second.
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 17
Database Users
Users may be divided into
Those who actually use and control the database
content, and those who design, develop and
maintain database applications (called “Actors on
the Scene”), and
Those who design and develop the DBMS
software and related tools, and the computer
systems operators (called “Workers Behind the
Scene”).
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Database Users – Actors on the
Scene
Actors on the scene
Database administrators:
Responsible for authorizing access to the database,
for coordinating and monitoring its use, acquiring
software and hardware resources, controlling its use
and monitoring efficiency of operations.
Database Designers:
Responsible to define the content, the structure, the
constraints, and functions or transactions against
the database. They must communicate with the
end-users and understand their needs.
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Database End Users
Actors on the scene (continued)
End-users: They use the data for queries, reports
and some of them update the database content.
End-users can be categorized into:
Casual: access database occasionally when
needed
Naïve or Parametric: they make up a large section
of the end-user population.
They use previously well-defined functions in the form of
“canned transactions” against the database.
Users of Mobile Apps mostly fall in this category
Bank-tellers or reservation clerks are parametric users
who do this activity for an entire shift of operations.
Social Media Users post and read information from
websites
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Database End Users (continued)
Sophisticated:
These include business analysts, scientists, engineers,
others thoroughly familiar with the system capabilities.
Many use tools in the form of software packages that work
closely with the stored database.
Stand-alone:
Mostly maintain personal databases using ready-to-use
packaged applications.
An example is the user of a tax program that creates its
own internal database.
Another example is a user that maintains a database of
personal photos and videos.
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Database Users – Actors on the
Scene (continued)
System Analysts and Application Developers
This category currently accounts for a very large proportion
of the IT work force.
System Analysts: They understand the user
requirements of naïve and sophisticated users and design
applications including canned transactions to meet those
requirements.
Application Programmers: Implement the
specifications developed by analysts and test and debug
them before deployment.
Business Analysts: There is an increasing need for
such people who can analyze vast amounts of business
data and real-time data (“Big Data”) for better decision
making related to planning, advertising, marketing etc.
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Database Users – Actors behind the
Scene
System Designers and Implementors: Design and
implement DBMS packages in the form of modules and
interfaces and test and debug them. The DBMS must interface
with applications, language compilers, operating system
components, etc.
Tool Developers: Design and implement software
systems called tools for modeling and designing databases,
performance monitoring, prototyping, test data generation,
user interface creation, simulation etc. that facilitate building of
applications and allow using database effectively.
Operators and Maintenance Personnel: They
manage the actual running and maintenance of the database
system hardware and software environment.
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Advantages of Using the Database
Approach
Controlling redundancy in data storage and in
development and maintenance efforts.
Sharing of data among multiple users.
Restricting unauthorized access to data. Only the
DBA staff uses privileged commands and
facilities.
Providing persistent storage for program Objects
Providing Storage Structures (e.g. indexes) for
efficient Query Processing – see Chapter 17.
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Advantages of Using the Database
Approach (continued)
Providing optimization of queries for efficient
processing.
Providing backup and recovery services.
Providing multiple interfaces to different classes
of users.
Representing complex relationships among data.
Enforcing integrity constraints on the database.
Drawing inferences and actions from the stored
data using deductive and active rules and
triggers.
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Additional Implications of Using the
Database Approach
Potential for enforcing standards:
This is very crucial for the success of database
applications in large organizations. Standards
refer to data item names, display formats, screens,
report structures, meta-data (description of data),
Web page layouts, etc.
Reduced application development time:
Incremental time to add each new application is
reduced.
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Additional Implications of Using the
Database Approach (continued)
Flexibility to change data structures:
Database structure may evolve as new
requirements are defined.
Availability of current information:
Extremely important for on-line transaction
systems such as shopping, airline, hotel, car
reservations.
Economies of scale:
Wasteful overlap of resources and personnel can
be avoided by consolidating data and applications
across departments.
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When not to use a DBMS
Main inhibitors (costs) of using a DBMS:
High initial investment and possible need for additional
hardware.
Overhead for providing generality, security, concurrency
control, recovery, and integrity functions.
When a DBMS may be unnecessary:
If the database and applications are simple, well defined,
and not expected to change.
If access to data by multiple users is not required.
When a DBMS may be infeasible:
In embedded systems where a general purpose DBMS may
not fit in available storage
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 28
When not to use a DBMS
When no DBMS may suffice:
If there are stringent real-time requirements
that may not be met because of DBMS
overhead (e.g., telephone switching systems)
If the database system is not able to handle the
complexity of data because of modeling limitations
(e.g., in complex genome and protein databases)
If the database users need special operations not
supported by the DBMS (e.g., GIS and location
based services).
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 29
Chapter Summary
Types of Databases and Database Applications
Basic Definitions
Typical DBMS Functionality
Example of a Database (UNIVERSITY)
Main Characteristics of the Database Approach
Types of Database Users
Advantages of Using the Database Approach
When Not to Use Databases
Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 30