Database management is the process for managing information that supports the business operations of an organization. It involves storing and distributing data it to applications and users, editing it as needed and monitoring changes to the data and protecting against data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is an element of an organization’s overall informational infrastructure, which supports decision-making and growth for the business as well as compliance with laws like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM along with others created the first database systems. They developed into information management systems (IMS) which made it possible to store and retrieve large amounts of information for a range of uses, from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a set of tables which organize data in accordance with the specific scheme, for example one-to-many relationships. It utilizes primary keys to identify records and permit cross-references between tables. Each table is comprised of a variety of fields, referred to as attributes, that provide information about the data entities. The most widely used kind of database is a relational model, developed by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. This model is based on normalizing the data, making it easier to use. It also makes it simpler to update data, avoiding the need to change several databases.
The majority of DBMSs support a variety of databases by providing different internal and external levels of organization. The internal level is concerned with cost, scalability, as well as other operational issues, including the physical layout of the database. The external level is the way the database is presented in user interfaces and other applications. It could comprise a mix of different external views that are based on different data models. It also may also include virtual tables that are calculated with generic data to enhance the performance.
