Database management is a method for managing the data that is used to support a company’s business operations. It involves storing and distributing data it to users and applications making edits as needed and monitoring changes to data and protecting against data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is an element of a company’s total informational infrastructure which aids in decision making and corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were created in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into the information management systems (IMS) that allowed the storage and retrieve large amounts of data for a broad range of applications, from the calculation of inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a set of tables that store data in accordance with a specific pattern, such as one-to-many relationships. It utilizes primary keys to identify records and allows cross-references between tables. Each table is comprised of a set of attributes or fields which provide information about data entities. Relational models, invented by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at IBM as a database, are the most popular database type today. This design is based upon normalizing data to make it simpler to use. It also makes it easier to update data, avoiding the need to modify different sections of the database.
Most DBMSs can accommodate multiple database types by providing different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level concerns cost, scalability, and other operational issues, like the physical layout of the database. The external level is the representation of the database in user interfaces and applications. It can include a combination of different external views (based on different data models) and may also include virtual tables which are generated from generic data in order to improve performance.
