200 likes | 364 Views
Session 7 Database Assignment. What are they and how do we use them?. WHAT IS A DATABASE?. The most common image is that of a filing cabinet. Create structure to capture data (filing system) (table) Capture data (data entry) Pull information out of the data (query)
E N D
Session 7Database Assignment What are theyandhow do we use them?
WHAT IS A DATABASE? • The most common image is that of a filing cabinet. Create structure to capture data (filing system) (table) Capture data (data entry) Pull information out of the data (query) • Databases exist all around us: UNCA student records,Federal and State income tax files,insurance records,medical records, and ERICare examples of databases. • Any compilation of information can be called a database.
The problem with databases is how to get the information we want from the volumes of data? This is where a Relational Database Management System(RDBMS) is needed.
How Does It Work? • Microsoft Access is a RDBMSwith rows of records and fields (columns) of category information. • Each row cuts across columns to create a set of fields. • These fields, organized in columns, provide the common elements that we use to relate the records together.
ID NUMBER LAST FIRST EMPLOYER DATE 123 DOE JANE US SENATE 3/15/1932 286 MOUSE MICKEY DISNEY 11/1/1928 579 JAMES JESSIE SELF 8/1/1889 623 RANDALL FRAN UNCA 9/26/1996 Example of Database Table Field Names Record Record Record Record Field Field Field Field Field
Flat-file databases are self-contained databases in a single table. Relational database are where a single database can be spread across several tables. Flat verses Relational Database
Relational Database Example • Three tables • Blue line indicates relation by Student ID • Green line indicates relation by Description
Relational Database Examplein MS Access (showing the three tables and a query)
WHY NOT USE OTHER TOOLS? • MS Word (tables): Application is text oriented. Table rows and columns are difficult to control and cross reference. • MS Excel (spreadsheet):Application is cell oriented.Can create tables, but poor record management and limited cross-reference capability. Excellent for calculations…
WHY USE ACCESS? Microsoft • Application is record oriented. • Easy to capture data. • Can link large volumes of data together. • Easy to ask questions of the data. • Import and export capabilities(“plays well with others”). • Wide variety of report formats.
HOW TO USE ACCESS? • For keeping records • Making sense out of a large volume of information • Looking for the connections
In-class Database Demo (5 Records, 4 Fields) * Part of the 52 Record, 4 Field Database Assignment (details on EDUC311 site)
Focus - Three core components • Create structure (filing system) (table) • Capture data (data entry) • Ask questions of data (query) • Create input screens (forms) • Reports • Macros • Modules • Relationships
Oracle, SQL, etc… (the heavies) • Full featured • Substantial learning curve
ERIC - Education Resources Information Center “The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. The ERIC online system provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations going back to 1966. More than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), previously available through fee-based services only, are now available for free.” http://www.eric.ed.gov/
WARNING For your safety STOP NOW! Beyond this slide is GEEK stuff…
Energy pulls plugs on world’s largest database 04/15/04 By Joab Jackson GCN StaffThe world will have to wait a while longer to see the first petabyte database. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center’s Objectivity database, widely acknowledged as the world’s largest, has stopped growing, just short of 900 terabytes, a victim of industry standardization within the scientific community. A petabyte is 1,000 T.
Winter TopTen Program The Winter TopTen Programidentifies the world’s largest and most heavily used databases. The primary objective of this highly visible, global Program is to recognize the database practitioners whose achievements have advanced the boundaries of database size and power. The Program discloses the products, platforms and architectures that support the leading implementations. It also salutes the vendors and database-related organizations whose products and services are enabling the world’s biggest data repositories.