DATABASE LANGUAGES

A database system provides a data-definition language to specify the database schema and a
data-manipulation language to express database. The data-definition and data-manipulation
languages are not two separate languages; they simply form parts of a single database language,
such as the widely used SQL language.
1. Data-Manipulation Language
A data-manipulation language (DML) is a language that enables users to access or manipulate
data as organized by the appropriate data model. The types of access are:
• Retrieval of information stored in the database
• Insertion of new information into the database
• Deletion of information from the database
• Modification of information stored in the database
There are basically two types:
• Procedural DMLs require a user to specify what data are needed and how to get those data.
• Declarative DMLs (also referred to as nonprocedural DMLs) require a user to specify what data
are needed without specifying how to get those data.
Declarative DMLs are usually easier to learn and use than are procedural DMLs. However, since a
user does not have to specify how to get the data, the database system has to figure out an efficient
means of accessing data.
A query is a statement requesting the retrieval of information. The portion of a DML that involves
information retrieval is called a query language.
2. Data-Definition Language
We specify a database schema by a set of definitions expressed by a special language called a
data-definition language (DDL). We specify the storage structure and access methods used by the
database system by a set of statements in a special type of DDL called a data storage and
definition language.
The data values stored in the database must satisfy certain consistency constraints. For example,
suppose the university requires that the account balance of a department must never be negative.
The DDL provides facilities to specify such constraints. The database system checks these
constraints every time the database is updated.
The output of the DDL is placed in the data dictionary, which contains metadata—that is, data
about data.

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STRUCTURE OF DBMS:
The architecture of a database system is greatly influenced by the underlying computer system on
which the database system runs. Database systems can be centralized, or client-server, where
one server machine executes work on behalf of multiple client machines.

A database system is partitioned into modules that deal with each of the responsibilities of the
overall system. The functional components of a database system can be broadly divided into the
storage manager and the query processor components. The storage manager is important because
databases typically require a large amount of storage space. The query processor is important
because it helps the database system simplify and facilitate access to data.
Query Processor:
The query processor components include
● DDL interpreter - which interprets DDL statements and records the definitions in the data
dictionary.
● DML compiler - which translates DML statements in a query language into an evaluation
plan consisting of low-level instructions that the query evaluation engine understands. A
query can usually be translated into any of a number of alternative evaluation plans that all

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 give the same result. The DML compiler also performs query optimization, that is, it picks
the lowest cost evaluation plan from among the alternatives.
● Query evaluation engine - which executes low-level instructions generated by the DML
compiler.
Storage Manager:
A storage manager is a program module that provides the interface between the low level data
stored in the database and the application programs and queries submitted to the system. The
storage manager is responsible for the interaction with the file manager. The raw data are stored
on the disk using the file system, which is usually provided by a conventional operating system.
The storage manager translates the various DML statements into low-level file-system commands.
Thus, the storage manager is responsible for storing, retrieving, and updating data in the database.
The storage manager components includes
● Authorization and integrity manager- which tests for the satisfaction of integrity
constraints and checks the authority of users to access data.
● Transaction manager, which ensures that the database remains in a consistent (correct)
state despite system failures, and that concurrent transaction executions proceed without
conflicting.
● File manager, which manages the allocation of space on disk storage and the data
structures used to represent information stored on disk.
● Buffer manager, which is responsible for fetching data from disk storage into main
memory, and deciding what data to cache in main memory. The buffer manager is a critical
part of the database system, since it enables the database to handle data sizes that are much
larger than the size of main memory.
Transaction Manager:
A transaction is a collection of operations that performs a single logical function in a database
application. Each transaction is a unit of both atomicity and consistency. Thus, we require that
transactions do not violate any database-consistency constraints. That is, if the database was
consistent when a transaction started, the database must be consistent when the transaction
successfully terminates. Transaction - manager ensures that the database remains in a consistent
(correct) state despite system failures (e.g., power failures and operating system crashes) and
transaction failures.