Database Fundamentals
Module 7 Lesson 1
What is a Database?An organized collection of related information.
What is a Database Management System?
Software that allows the computer to create a database; add, change, and delete data in the database; sort the data; retrieve the data; and create forms and reports using the data in the database.
Have you ever used a database?Printed
Address books
Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Library card catalogs
Telephone directories
Electronic
Cell phone contacts
NetFlix
GameLibrary
Amazon.com
NetFlix is a Database?• Yes!
• NetFlix stores its movie titles in a database that is easily searched and sorted to find the perfect movie for you.
• Search by Genre, Actor, Director, Rating
• Sort by Production Date, Stars
Cell Phone Contacts are in a Database?
• Yes!
• All of the information you enter about your contacts goes into a database stored on your phone. You can store names, phone numbers, email addresses and lots of other information.
• Your contacts can easily be searched and sorted
Electronic v. Print• Why is a computerized database better than
a print database?– Accurate, quick and efficient arrangement of data
in alphabetical or numerical order– Ability to find and retrieve data– Ability to generate reports on the database– Ease of editing existing data
What can you put in a Database?
Any information that is related.
Major League Baseball
Colleges
Nutrition
Countries
Endangered Species
Dictionary
Databases about youDid you know that your doctor and your school also
keep data (information) about you in a database? What type of data do you think they store? – Your name (both)– Your address (both)– Your date of birth (both)– Vaccination Shot records (medical record) – Medicines that you may be allergic to (medical record)– Grades (School Record)– Certificates (School) – Social Security Number (both)
As you can see, not only do you use a database, but information about you is also in a database or two J.
Steps to creating a Database1. Plan and design the database according to
needs and requirements
2. Determine the fields or categories that will be used in the database
3. Determine field properties to include size and type
How do I enter data into a Database?
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• PDA’s
• Scanners
• Speech Recognition Software
• Web forms
Parts of a DatabaseAn entry is data that is in a field
A field is one category of information (A field name is the title that is assigned to a field)
A record is a group of related fields of one item of information in the database
A file is the collection of related records.
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Example• The phone book is a file which contains a
record for each subscriber. Each subscriber record contains three fields: name, address, and phone number. The records are sorted alphabetically by the name field, which is called the key field--or primary key.
Examples of an Entry
Last Name First Name Address City State Zip
Adams Tom 33 East Street Silas NC 22558
Goins Juan 76 Liberty Rd Bogard NC 55987
Sawyer Sarah 26 Main Street Oakwood NC 44897
Examples of a Field
Last Name First Name Address City State Zip
Adams Tom 33 East Street Silas NC 22558
Goins Juan 76 Liberty Rd Bogard NC 55987
Sawyer Sarah 26 Main Street Oakwood NC 44897
Examples of an Record
Last Name First Name Address City State Zip
Adams Tom 33 East Street Silas NC 22558
Goins Juan 76 Liberty Rd Bogard NC 55987
Sawyer Sarah 26 Main Street Oakwood NC 44897
Example of a Database File
Last Name First Name Address City State Zip
Adams Tom 33 East Street Silas NC 22558
Goins Juan 76 Liberty Rd Bogard NC 55987
Sawyer Sarah 26 Main Street Oakwood NC 44897
Typical views of a database• List view
– Displays several records on the screen at a time, often referred to as Datasheet View
Typical views of a database• Form view
– Displays one record on the screen at a time.– Commonly used in data entry.
General data types• Currency ($9.99)
• Date (03/03/03 or March 3, 2003)
• Numeric (450 or 4,500,000)– These numbers can be used in calculations
• I.E. Gross pay, basketball statistics, etc.
• Text/General (Smith or 910-555-5468)– Numbers may used, but would not be computed
• I.E. Social security numbers, telephone numbers, etc.
What can you do with a Database?
• Sort– Ascending (A, B, C or 1, 2, 3)– Descending (Z, Y, X or 3, 2, 1)
• Search– Filter– Query
• Reports
Sort
To arrange data in alphabetical or numerical order.– Ascending: Sorting data in alphabetical order
from A-Z or numerical order from 0-9.– Descending: Sorting data the opposite of
ascending order. (Z-A & 9-0)
SortAscending by Rank
Descending by Rank
SortAscending by Rank
Descending by Rank
SortAscending by Rank
Descending by Rank
Primary/Secondary Sorts• Primary key: The field selected as the unique
identifier for the database.(i.e. Student number)• Primary sort: The first field that a database is
sorted on. • Secondary sort: The second field that a database
is sorted on.Student No.
Last Name Age Grade
001 Pate 12 6
005 Brown 14 8
010 Brown 16 10
Primary Key:Student No.
Primary Sort:Last name (in Descending order)
Secondary Sort:Age (in ascendingorder)
Search: Filter v Query• A method to find specific data within a
database that meets certain criteria.
• The difference? – Queries can be saved and printed.
How do they work?• Queries/Filters use connectors and
comparison operators to define the search criteria– Connectors (AND, OR, NOT)– Comparison operators (<, >, <=, >=, =, <>)
Comparison Operators= equals
< less than (no more than, fewer than)
> greater than (no fewer than, more than)
<= less than or equal to (at most)
>= greater than or equal to (at least)
ConnectorsAnd—must meet both criteria, yields fewer
results
Or—must meet either criteria, yields more results
Not—except
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