1. Storing Organizational Information - Databases
CHAPTER 7
Storing Organizational Information - Databases

2. Learning Outcomes
Define the fundamental concepts of the relational database model
Evaluate the advantages of the relational database model
Compare operational integrity constraints and business-critical integrity constraints
Describe the role and purpose of a database management system
List and describe the four components of a database management system
Describe the two primary methods for integrating information across multiple databases

3. Overview Information is stored in databases
Database – maintains information about various types of objects (inventory), events (transactions), people (employees), and places (warehouses)
Almost every business decision is
based on information

4. Database Models
Hierarchical database – stores related information in terms of predefined categorical relationships in a “tree-like” fashion
Network database – used by a network installation tool to allocate and track network resources
Relational database model – stores information in the form of logically related two-dimensional tables

5. Entities, Entity Classes, and Attributes
Entity – a person, place, thing, transaction, or event about which information is stored
The rows in each table contain the entities
Entity includes Dave’s Sub Shop and Pizza Palace entities [Figure 2.6 – CUSTOMER]
Entity class (table) – a collection of similar entities
Entity classes include CUSTOMER, ORDER, ORDER LINE, DISTRIBUTOR, and PRODUCT
Attributes (fields, columns) – characteristics or properties of an entity class
The columns in each table contain the attributes
Attributes for CUSTOMER include Customer ID, Customer Name, Contact Name, and Phone

6. Keys and Relationships
Primary key – a field (or group of fields) that uniquely identifies a given entity in a table
Foreign key – a primary key of one table that appears an attribute in another table and acts to provide a logical relationship among the two tables

7. A relational database for Coca-Cola

8. Relational Database Advantages from a business perspective
Increased flexibility
Increased scalability and performance
Reduced information redundancy
Increased information integrity (quality)
Increased information security

9. Increased Flexibility
A well-designed database should:
Handle changes quickly and easily
Provide users with different views
A database has only one physical view
Physical view – deals with the physical storage of information on a storage device such as a hard disk
A database can have multiple logical views
Logical view – focuses on how users logically access information to meet particular business needs

10. Increased Scalability and Performance
A database must scale to meet increased demand, while maintaining acceptable performance levels
Scalability – refers to how well a system can adapt to increased demands
Performance – measures how quickly a system performs a certain process or transaction

11. Reduced Information Redundancy
Databases reduce information redundancy
Redundancy – the duplication of information or storing the same information in multiple places
Inconsistency is one of the primary problems with redundant information

12. Increase Information Integrity
Information integrity – a measure of the quality of information
Integrity constraints – rules that help ensure the quality of information
Operational integrity constraints – rules that enforce basic and fundamental information-based constraints
Business-critical integrity constraints – rules that enforce business rules vital to an organization’s success and often require more insight and knowledge than operational integrity constraints
Users cannot create an order
for a nonexistent customer
Product returns are not accepted for
fresh product 15 days after purchase

13. Increased Information Security
Information is an organizational asset and must be protected
Databases offer several security features including:
Passwords – provide authentication of the user
Access levels – determine who has access to the different types of information
Access controls – Determine types of user access, such as read-only access

14. Database management systems (DBMS) – software through which users and application programs interact with a database

15. Four components of a DBMS

16. Data Definition Component
helps create and maintain the data dictionary and the structure of the database
Data dictionary – a file that stores definitions of information types, identifies the primary and foreign keys, and maintains the relationships among the tables
The data dictionary essentially defines the logical properties of the information that the database contains

17. Data Manipulation Component
Data manipulation component – allows users to create, read, update, and delete information in a database
A DBMS contains several data manipulation tools:
Views – Allows users to see, change, sort, and query the database content
Report generators
Query-by-example (QBE)
Structured query language (SQL)

20. Application Generation and Data Administration Components
Application generation component – includes tools for creating visually appealing and easy-to-use applications
Data administration component – provides tools for managing the overall database environment by providing faculties for backup, recovery, security, and performance
IT specialists primarily use these components

21. Integrating Information among Multiple Databases
Organizations typically maintain multiple systems, each with its own database
Integration – allows separate systems to communicate directly with each other
Forward integration – takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all downstream systems and processes
Backward integration – takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all upstream systems and processes

22. Building a central repository specifically for integrated information

24. Opening Case Study Questions - Searching for Revenue - Google
Identify the different types of entity classes that might be stored in Google’s indexing database
Explain why database technology is so important to Google’s business model
Explain the difference between logical and physical views and why logical views are important to Google’s employees