1. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 1 What is a Database? RELATIONAL DATABASE A database is an organized collection of information. A database is designed in such a way that it makes it easy for a computer to find information very quickly. Search engines such as Google and Firefox, for example, are multi-million entry databases.

2. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 2 Other Database Use Examples iTunes Amazon Video Games Any company that sells products or collects customer information online. Wikipedia DSHS student information system

3. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 3 What can a database do?  Store millions of pieces of data  Can retrieve data quickly  Can reorganize data for easy presentation and analysis

4. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 4 Objects of an MS Access Database TABLES QUERIES FORMS REPORTS

5. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 5 TABLES In a relational database, data is separated into tables that consist of records. This table has 3 records

6. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 6 TABLES Some important terms. This is a Field This is a row, each row represents 1 record. This is an entry In this example, the VendorID field is the Primary key.

7. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 7 Designing a Relational Database  Determine what information should be stored  Divide information into named tables  Determine the relationship among the tables  Define the fields and determine the primary key for each table

8. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 8 Divide Information into Named Tables  Group related information into separate tables  For example, a database for a clothing store might have the following tables Inventory Information Customer Information Sales Information Items Returned Information  Group related information into separate tables  For example, a database for a clothing store might have the following tables Inventory Information Customer Information Sales Information Items Returned Information

9. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 9 Divide Information into Named Tables Inventory TableCustomer Information Table Transactions Table

10. Alighieri: Introduction to MS Access 10 Determine the Relationship Among Tables  When 2 tables contain the same field, they are said to be related  How are the following tables related?