Database management is the process to manage information that is essential to the organization’s business processes. It involves storing data, disseminating it to users and applications, editing it as needed as well as monitoring changes in data and making sure that data integrity is not compromised due to unexpected failure. It’s a component of a company’s total informational infrastructure that supports decision-making and growth for the business as well maremma-tuscany.com as compliance with laws like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were developed in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) that enabled the storage and retrieve large amounts of data for a wide range of purposes, from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a collection of tables that arrange data according to a specific pattern, such as one-to-many relationships. It uses the primary key to identify records and allow cross-references among tables. Each table has a set of fields, also known as attributes, that contain information about the data entities. The most popular kind of database is a relational model created by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. This model is based on normalizing data to make it easier to use. It also makes it simpler to update data by avoiding the need to change several databases.
Most DBMSs can support multiple types of databases and offer different internal and external levels of organization. The internal level focuses on cost, scalability and other operational concerns including the design of the database’s physical storage. The external level is the representation of the database on user interfaces and applications. It could include a mix of different external views (based on different data models) and may include virtual tables that are computed from generic data to improve performance.