Database is simply a compilation of data items within a specific setting. Let’s take a fast food restaurant as an example. We have numerous data items like menus and employees. Each data item has characteristics, for example, menu 1 has product name like double cheese burger, its price, and its size. The menu 1 can be related to other data item like customer data item, where customer 1 ordered menu 1 or supplier data item. It simply contains numerous data items with its characteristics.
Database management system is the software that manage these data items and its characteristics. Database management system lets one define, create, use, and maintain the database and it’s simply a platform for the database. A popular platform is MySQL, that uses structured query language. Database system simply is the combination of the two.
Companies who deal with lot of data items that overlaps goes with database approach versus the file based approach. File based approach simply stores data in a dedicated file for the application instead of having a centralized database that is used by multiple applications. File based approach is more resource consuming and harder to manage. For example, when an invoicing application accesses invoice database, it may update only one database file and not the other like bank account database if not properly configured. This becomes a bigger issue when simultaneous access by different applications or users occurs.
Database approach requires database management system that applications can interface with instead of directly with the files. The database management system stores and manages the data for the applications and is great because it doesn’t require explicit query and access procedures required by file based approach and can have a single standard process. This makes it easier to manage and ensures efficiency and consistency. Metadata is the key factor between file versus database approach and it is the data definitions that are stored in the catalog within the database management system.
HansITAcademy 