Database management is a method for managing the data that supports a company’s business operations. It involves storing and distributing data it to applications and users, editing it as needed and monitoring changes to data and stopping data corruption due unexpected failure. It is a part of the overall informational infrastructure of a business that aids in decision-making in corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act.
In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM along with other companies developed the first database systems. They evolved into information management systems (IMS), which allowed large amounts data to be stored and retrieved for a range of purposes. From calculating inventory, to aiding complex financial accounting functions as well as human resource functions.
A database consists of a set of tables that organize data according to a particular arrangement, like one-to-many relationships. It uses primary key to identify records and allow cross-references between tables. Each table has a variety of fields, referred to as attributes, which provide information about the entities that comprise the data. Relational models, created by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at IBM as a database, are the most widely used type of database in the present. The concept is based on normalizing data to make it more user-friendly. It is also easier to update data since it doesn’t require the modification of many sections of the databases.
The majority of DBMSs are able to support various types of databases, by providing different levels of internal and external organization. The internal level concerns the cost, scalability, and other operational issues, like the physical layout of the database. The external level is the way the database is displayed in user interfaces and other applications. It could include a mix of different external views that are based on different data models. It may include virtual table that are computed using generic data to improve the performance.