Database management is a method of managing the information that supports a business’s operations. It involves storing data, disseminating it to users and applications and editing it when needed as well as monitoring changes in data and protecting against data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is an element of an organization’s overall informational infrastructure that aids in decision-making and growth for the business as well as compliance with laws like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were created in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They developed into information management systems (IMS), which allowed large amounts of data to be stored and retrieved for a variety of purposes. From calculating inventory, to supporting complex financial accounting functions and human resource functions.
A database consists of a set of tables that are organized according to a particular pattern, for example, one-to-many relationships. It utilizes primary keys to identify records, and allow cross-references between tables. Each table is comprised of a variety of fields, known as attributes, that contain information about the data entities. Relational models, invented by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at IBM, are the most widely used type of database today. This model is based upon normalizing the data, making it more easy to use. It also makes it simpler to update data since it eliminates the need to change various databases.
Most DBMSs can support different types of databases by offering different levels of internal and external organization. The internal level deals with costs, scalability, and other operational issues, such as the layout of the database’s physical storage. The external level determines how the database is displayed in user interfaces and other applications. It could comprise a mix of different external views based on different data models and may also include virtual tables that are computed using generic data to improve the performance.