Database Management Systems

Dr. Alshaimaa abo-alian

a_alian@cis.asu.edu.eg

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Course Contents
◼ Introduction to Database and Database Users
◼ Database System Concepts and Architecture.
◼ Entity-Relationship (ER) Model
◼ Relational Data Model and Database Constraints.
◼ Mapping of an ER schema into a relational schema
◼ Enhanced ERD
◼ Functional Dependencies and Normalization.
◼ Relational Algebra
◼ Indexing Structures for Files
◼ Algorithms for Query Processing and Optimization

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Marks Distribution

◼ Quiz: 5% (Week 5)
◼ Year work (group project): 10 % (Week 8, 11)
◼ Midterm : 15% (Week 7)
◼ Practical 20%
◼ Final exam 50 %
◼ Total 100 %

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Chapter 1
Introduction: Databases and
Database Users
◼ Databases and database systems are an
essential component of life in modern society:
◼ Most of us encounter several activities every day
that involve some interaction with a database.
◼ Databases play a critical role in almost all areas
where computers are used
◼ including business, electronic commerce,
engineering, medicine, genetics, law and
education.

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Outline
◼ Types of Databases and Database Applications
◼ Basic Definitions
◼ Example of a Database (UNIVERSITY)
◼ Typical DBMS Functionality
◼ Main Characteristics of the Database Approach
◼ Database Users
◼ Advantages of Using the Database Approach
◼ When not to use a DBMS

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Basic Definitions
◼ Database:
◼ A collection of related data.

◼ Data:
◼ Known facts that can be recorded and have an implicit meaning.

◼ Example!
◼ Mini-world:
◼ represents some aspect of the real world. For example, student
grades and transcripts at a university.
◼ In order for a database to be accurate and reliable at all times, it
must be a true reflection of the mini- world that it represents;
therefore, changes must be reflected in the database as soon as
possible.
◼ Transaction
◼ It is an executing program or process that includes one or more
database accesses, such as reading or updating of database
records.
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Types of Databases and Database Applications

◼ Traditional database applications stores textual or numeric

information.
◼ Multimedia databases stores images, audio clips, and video streams
digitally.
◼ Geographic information systems (GIS) can store and analyze
maps, weather data, and satellite images.
◼ Data warehouses and online analytical processing (OLAP)
systems are used to Extract and analyze useful business information
from very large databases to support decision making.
◼ Real-time database is a database system which uses real-time
processing to handle workloads whose state is constantly changing.
For example, a stock market changes very rapidly and is dynamic.

◼ What else? At least 3 more examples

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A database can be of any size and
complexity.
For example:
◼ The list of names and addresses may consist of
only a few hundred records, each with a simple
structure.

◼ On the other hand, the computerized catalog of a

large library may contain half a million entries
organized under different categories—by primary
author’s last name, by subject, by book title—with
each category organized alphabetically.

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◼ A database of even greater size and complexity is maintained by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to monitor tax forms filed by U.S.
taxpayers.
◼ If we assume that there are 100 million taxpayers and each
taxpayer files an average of five forms with approximately 400
characters of information per form, we would have a database of 100
× 106 × 400 × 5 characters (bytes) of information.
◼ If the IRS keeps the past three returns of each taxpayer in addition
to the current return, we would have a database of 8 × 1011 bytes
(800 gigabytes).
◼ This huge amount of information must be organized and managed so
that users can search for, retrieve, and update the data as needed.

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◼ An example of a large commercial database is Amazon.com. It
contains data for over 20 million books, CDs, videos, DVDs, games,
electronics, apparel, and other items. The database occupies over 42
terabytes (a terabyte is 1012 bytes worth of storage) and is stored on
200 different computers (called servers). About 15 million visitors
access Amazon.com each day and use the database to make
purchases. The database is continually updated as new books and
other items are added to the inventory and stock quantities are
updated as purchases are transacted. About 100 people are
responsible for keeping the Amazon database up-to-date. [2010]
• 59 million active customers

• More Examples!

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Basic Definitions

◼ Database Management System (DBMS):

◼ A software package/ system to facilitate the creation and
maintenance of a computerized database.
◼ facilitates the processes of defining, constructing, manipulating,
and sharing databases among various users and applications.

◼ Database System:
◼ The DBMS software together with the database itself.
Sometimes, the applications are also included.

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Simplified Database System Environment

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Example of a Database
(with a Conceptual Data Model)
◼ Mini-world for the example:
◼ Part of a UNIVERSITY environment.
◼ Some mini-world entities:
◼ STUDENTs
◼ COURSEs
◼ SECTIONs (of COURSEs)
◼ GRADE_REPORT
◼ PREREQUISITE

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Example of a Database
(with a Conceptual Data Model)
◼ Some mini-world relationships:
◼ SECTIONs are of specific COURSEs
◼ STUDENTs take SECTIONs
◼ COURSEs have prerequisite COURSEs
◼ INSTRUCTORs teach SECTIONs
◼ COURSEs are offered by DEPARTMENTs
◼ STUDENTs major in DEPARTMENTs

◼ Note: The above entities and relationships are typically expressed in a

conceptual data model, such as the ENTITY-RELATIONSHIP data model
(see Chapters 3, 4)

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Example

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Typical DBMS Functionality
◼ Define a particular database in terms of its data types,
structures, and constraints
◼ Construct or Load the initial database contents on a
secondary storage medium
◼ Manipulating the database:
◼ Retrieval: Querying, generating reports
◼ Modification: Insertions, deletions and updates to its content
◼ Accessing the database through Web applications
◼ Processing and Sharing by a set of concurrent users and
application programs – yet, keeping all data valid and
consistent

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Typical DBMS Functionality
◼ Other features:
◼ Protection or Security measures to prevent
unauthorized access
◼ Presentation and Visualization of data
◼ Maintaining the database and associated
programs over the lifetime of the database
application
◼ Called database, software, and system
maintenance

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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach
◼ Database approach vs. file processing approach!
◼ Inconsistency
◼ Redundancy
◼ Waste storage
◼ Much effort to maintain updates

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◼ In traditional file processing, each user defines and implements the
files needed for a specific software application as part of
programming the application.

◼ For example, one user, the grade reporting office, may keep files on
students and their grades. Programs to print a student’s transcript and
to enter new grades are implemented as part of the application. A
second user, the accounting office, may keep track of students’ fees
and their payments. Although both users are interested in data about
students, each user maintains separate files—and programs to
manipulate these files—because each requires some data not
available from the other user’s files.
◼ This redundancy in defining and storing data results in wasted
storage space and in redundant efforts to maintain common up-
to-date data.
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◼ In the database approach, a single repository
maintains data that is defined once and then
accessed by various users.

◼ In file systems, each application is free to name

data elements independently. In contrast, in a
database, the names or labels of data are
defined once, and used repeatedly by queries,
transactions, and applications.

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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)

◼ Self-describing nature of a database system:

◼ A DBMS catalog stores the description of a particular
database (e.g. data structures, types, and constraints)
◼ The description is called meta-data.
◼ This allows the DBMS software to work with different
database applications.

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Example of a simplified database catalog

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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
◼ Insulation between programs and data:
◼ Called program-data independence.
◼ Allows changing data structures and storage
organization without having to change the DBMS
access programs.
◼ Data Abstraction:
◼ A data model is used to hide storage details and
present the users with a conceptual view of the
database.
◼ Programs refer to the data model constructs rather
than data storage details.

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◼ In traditional file processing, the structure of data files is embedded in
the application programs, so any changes to the structure of a file
may require changing all programs that access that file.

◼ For example, a file access program may be written in such a way that
it can access only STUDENT records of the structure shown in Figure
1.4. If we want to add another piece of data to each STUDENT
record, say the Birth_date, such a program will no longer work and
must be changed. By contrast, in a DBMS environment, we only
need to change the description of STUDENT records in the
catalog (Figure 1.3) to reflect the inclusion of the new data item
Birth_date; no programs are changed. The next time a DBMS
program refers to the catalog, the new structure of STUDENT records
will be accessed and used.

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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
◼ Support of multiple views of the data:
◼ Each user may see a different view of the
database, which describes only the data of
interest to that user.
◼ A view may be a subset of the database or it may
contain virtual data that is derived from the
database files but is not explicitly stored.

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◼ For example, one user of the database of Figure 1.2 may be interested only
in accessing and printing the transcript of each student; the view for this user
is shown in Figure 1.5(a).
◼ A second user, who is interested only in checking that students have taken all
the prerequisites of each course for which they register, may require the view
shown in Figure 1.5(b).

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Main Characteristics of the Database
Approach (continued)
◼ Sharing of data and multi-user transaction
processing:
◼ Allowing a set of concurrent users to retrieve from and to
update the database.
◼ Concurrency control within the DBMS guarantees that each
transaction is correctly executed or aborted
◼ For example, when several reservation agents try to assign a seat on
an airline flight, the DBMS should ensure that each seat can be
accessed by only one agent at a time for assignment to a passenger.
◼ Recovery subsystem ensures each completed transaction
has its effect permanently recorded in the database
◼ OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is a major part of
database applications. This allows hundreds of concurrent
transactions to execute per second.
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◼ The isolation property ensures that each
transaction appears to execute in isolation from
other transactions, even though hundreds of
transactions may be executing concurrently. The
atomicity property ensures that either all the
database operations in a transaction are
executed or none are.

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Database Users
◼ Users may be divided into
◼ Those who actually use and control the database
content, and those who design, develop and
maintain database applications (called “Actors on
the Scene”)
◼ Those who design and develop the DBMS
software and related tools, and the computer
systems operators (called “Workers Behind the
Scene”).

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Database Users
Actors on the scene
◼ Database administrators:
◼ Responsible for authorizing access to the database, for
coordinating and monitoring its use, acquiring software
and hardware resources, controlling its use and
monitoring efficiency of operations.

◼ Database Designers:
◼ Responsible to define the content, the structure, the
constraints, and functions or transactions against the
database. They must communicate with the end-users
and understand their needs.

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Database Users
Actors on the scene
◼ End-users: They use the data for queries, reports
and some of them update the database content. End-
users can be categorized into:
◼ Casual: access database occasionally when needed
◼ Naïve or Parametric: they make up a large section of the
end-user population.
◼ They use previously well-defined functions in the form of
“canned transactions” against the database.
◼ Examples are bank-tellers or reservation clerks who do this
activity for an entire shift of operations.

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Database Users
Actors on the scene
◼ Categories of End-users (continued)
◼ Sophisticated:
◼ These include business analysts, scientists, engineers,
others thoroughly familiar with the system capabilities.
◼ Many use tools in the form of software packages that work
closely with the stored database.
◼ Stand-alone:
◼ Mostly maintain personal databases using ready-to-use
packaged applications.
◼ An example is a tax program user that creates its own
internal database.
◼ Another example is a user that maintains an address
book.

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Database Users
Actors on the scene
◼ System analysts
◼ determine the requirements of end users
◼ Develop specifications for standard canned transactions
that meet these requirements.

◼ Application programmers
◼ implement these specifications as programs; then they
test, debug, document, and maintain these canned
transactions.
◼ referred to as software developers or software engineers

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Database Users
Workers behind the scene
◼ DBMS system designers and implementers
◼ design and implement the DBMS modules and
interfaces as a software package.
➢ A DBMS is a very complex software system that
consists of many components, or modules, including
modules for:
◼ implementing the catalog, query language processing,
accessing and buffering data
◼ controlling concurrency
◼ handling data recovery and security.
◼ The DBMS must interface with other systems such as the
OS and compilers for various programming languages.
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Advantages of Using the Database
Approach
◼ Controlling redundancy in data storage and in
development and maintenance efforts.
◼ Sharing of data among multiple users.
◼ Restricting unauthorized access to data.
◼ Unauthorized access: For example, financial data is often considered
confidential, and only authorized persons are allowed to access such
data. some users may only be permitted to retrieve data, whereas others
are allowed to retrieve and update.

◼ Providing Storage Structures (e.g. indexes) for

efficient Query Processing.

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Advantages of Using the Database
Approach (continued)
◼ Providing backup and recovery services.
◼ For example, if the computer system fails in the middle of a complex
update transaction, the recovery subsystem is responsible for making
sure that the database is restored to the state it was in before the
transaction started executing.
◼ Providing multiple interfaces to different classes of users.
◼ Representing complex relationships among data.
◼ Enforcing integrity constraints on the database.
◼ The simplest type of integrity constraint involves specifying a data type
for each data item. more complex type of constraint that frequently occurs
involves specifying that a record in one file must be related to records in
other files (referential integrity constraint) .
◼ Another type of constraint specifies uniqueness on data item values
constraints business rules

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When not to use a DBMS
◼ Main inhibitors (costs) of using a DBMS:
◼ High initial investment and possible need for additional
hardware.
◼ Overhead for providing generality, security, concurrency
control, recovery, and integrity functions.
◼ When a DBMS may be unnecessary:
◼ If the database and applications are simple, well defined,
and not expected to change.
◼ If there are embedded systems with limited storage
capacity, where a general-purpose DBMS would not fit
◼ If access to data by multiple users is not required.

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Thanks for Listening

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