Database Introduction
Héctor Chocobar Torrejón
Ingeniero en Sistemas | Profesor Universitario | Senior Mentor | Data Science Engineer | Full-stack Developer
By way of introduction, a database is an organized collection of data, generally stored electronically and accessed from a computer system.
How Databases Function
In a database system, a user interacts with an application. The application software accesses the data in the database through a DBMS.
The DBMS interacts, creates, and manages the database. Additionally, it manages security, user roles, and where the database will physically reside.
When we define a database it is necessary to decide which data is stored and which is not relevant to the application software. For example, if we want to develop a mobile application to show the movies available daily in the cinema, it is not relevant to store the inventory of the drinks.
Vocabulary
User
A user is an individual who interacts with a software application or database. A user usually has an account with a unique username and password to access the system.
Data
Data are facts, numbers, characters, symbols, images or figures and all raw input from which information is produced. Data can exist in several forms such as text on paper or bytes stored in electronic memory.
Information
Information is processed data that fulfills specific requirements and purposes. It is presented, organized, and structured to be meaningful.
Application Software
Application software is a program or a collection of programs (software) created for a specific purpose, to help the user perform concrete tasks. It can be called an application or simply an app.
Database
A database is an organized collection of data, generally stored electronically and accessed from a computer system. Because this information is organized, it can be accessed, managed and updated properly and efficiently.
DBMS (Database Management System)
A DBMS is a software tool used to manage the data in a database, it allows definition of the data structure including data fields, tables, table relationships, database objects, and validation rules. MySQL and MariaDB are examples of database management systems.
Database Element
A database element is a component of a database. Some database elements are tables, records, forms, reports, and fields. The tables are the most important ones. The tables include rows and columns that contain information.
Abstraction
Abstraction is the process of solving complex problems by ignoring details that are not relevant to the solution. A software developer can build a database by identifying the data which is necessary to meet the application requirements.