Databases and Query Languages
Introduction to
databases
Databases are one of the most useful of business
programs available. They are perfect for all sorts of data storage
and retrieval, for example, employee records, inventory control,
client marketing, logistics, equipment records and more.
Trying to run a complete business administration
without a database of some kind would be creating more work for
yourself and your staff than is necessary. Especially the freshness
and retrieval of information would be severely compromised.
But rather than buy the database software itself,
and program it to your needs, it is far easier to look for a
specific software application built on a database. This can save you
a lot of time and money.
Databases are becoming more and more popular for
usage in web sites now that connection speeds are better and thus
the retrieval of data is fast enough to seem to be real time.
Different types
of databases
There are two types of databases, differing in structure and
functionality. Depending on your data needs you use one or the
other.
The relational database, or RDB, is made up of a set of
related tables or lists where the actual data can be in the form of
a variable. In other words, the data is not fixed in its
representation.
A customer list is a good example of a relational database
because very few, if any, of the names, addresses, telephone numbers
and other information will be the same.
The other type of database is a multidimensional database,
or MDDB. A multidimensional database should be seen as a cube, where
related data is plotted along the three axes.
A sales or inventory database is a good example of a
multidimensional database where you have location, article and sales
listed. This data can change every day or month and with the help of
a graphical presentation you can plot trends, changes and
stagnation, for example.
A multidimensional database has advantages over a relational
database in that the information can be viewed in the same manner in
which it is stored. The more complex the interrelation of the data
is, the better a multidimensional database perform.
A relational database will require much more indexing and sorting
if used for the same type of data storage and retrieval as a
multidimensional database.
Database News and
Research
Database development is on the up and go. Once confined to the
nerd and boring sections of the worlds computer, accounting and
inventory rooms, databases have evolved and are now taking over the
web with a vengeance. (XML and ASP pages can be found in our
Programming section soon.)
Database
applications
With databases being so popular as they are, it is no surprise
that there are more and more appearing in the commercial and
academic workplaces and just about everywhere else.
Database tools and
Database Management Systems (DBMS)
As databases get more complex building and managing them has
become a profession in itself. More the less interested in the inner
workings of a database and the more interested in using or accessing
one (see also SQL below) there are several tools on the market to
help out.
Structured Query Language
(SQL)
Query languages are an integral part of databases. It would be
very difficult to find anything in a large or complex database
without a way of querying it in an intelligent way. Hence the birth
of the query language.
How to use a Query
Language
Now that you have your database and your query language, you may
still need to learn how to use them. Here are some helpful sites.
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