subject: Database Management: Defining The Functions And Usage Of Your Database [print this page] In any organization whether business driven or otherwise, there is a need to store and preserve extensive records. In the past, maintaining such records was a huge and demanding job. An office may used to resemble a library with so many files stacked one upon another. Database came to be developed in the second half of the twentieth century offering a solution for recording important data. From a decent beginning, today there are so many models of multi- user database which can store and retrieve data in different ways. For customer centric businesses, maintaining a database has the potential to even enhance their business prospects.
A database needs proper maintenance. Your organizations database is accessed by so many employees. Everyday new data and records are added. So what controls the access rights, how are the data archived and how is it stored and retrieved? The functioning of a database is defined by a database management system (DBMS). A DBMS can be best defined as a system software package that defines how the integrated data and files are used. It is a set of applications or programs which defines how the database is created, maintained, and used.
A DBMS has five components which executes different functions. These are DBMS engine, data definition subsystem, data manipulation subsystem, application generation subsystem, and data administration subsystem. In every organization there is a database manager or database administrator who takes control of the DBMS.
According to the nature of your data storage requirement, you can choose from a variety of database models. Some of the popular models include flat model, hierarchical model, relational model, network model, dimensional model, and objectional database model. Each model defines a set of operations which can be executed on the data. The structure and uses of each model therefore differs. Depending on the nature of your requirement you can choose to develop the desired model. Currently, the relational structure is most popularly used. It is used by mainframe and also midrange and microcomputer systems. An organization can also maintain more than one database to serve its different and extensive storage requirements.
