BIS121 IT for Business Application Lecture 8 – Database (Part I)

Objectives Define Database and its application Define field, record, table. Describe the objects in MS Access database Add, edit, and delete records in a table Use forms and reports

What is a database? A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. A "database" refers to a set of related data and the way it is structured or organized. Access to this data is usually provided by a "database management system" (DBMS) consisting of an integrated set of computer software that allows users to interact with one or more databases and provides access to all of the data contained in the database. (WIKI)

Application areas of Database Universities Sales Manufacturing Human Resource Banking Etc. …..

Function of Database Management Data definition – Creation, modification and removal of definitions that define the organization of the data. Update – Insertion, modification, and deletion of the actual data. Retrieval – Providing information in a form directly usable or for further processing by other applications.

Database structure Field – a basic data element (name, phone number, title) Record – a set of fields (All fields for one person) Table – a set of records Database – one or more tables

Database structure(Cont’d) Field and Primary Keys A primary key is a field which is unique to each record. Do not define the field which can be derived. Field Data Types TextText fields can store any kind of text/numeric characters with a maximum of 255 characters. This field is best suited for text or numbers that don’t require calculations (such a phone number) MemoStores large amounts of text or numbers – up to 65,536 characters. Uses more memory on your computer than a text field. NumberStore only numbers. Useful for fields that may require calculations. Date/TimeFor data and time information AutoNumberAutomatically generates a unique number for each new record. Useful for primary key fields Yes/NoFields that contain only one of two values (such as yes/no, true/false, on/off) OLE ObjectFor fields that need to contain an external object, such as a picture of document.

Create Database in MS Access Table Views Datasheet view is used to add, edit, or delete records Design view is used to create and modify fields Datasheet view Current record Total number of records

Create Database in MS Access(Cont’d) Design View Field Properties Field Names Primary Key Data Type

Field Properties Create an Input Mask Click Build button Select Social Security Number Select Yes for Required property Select Input Mask Use Try It box

Field Properties Data type validation Data type validation is customarily carried out on one or more simple data fields For example, many database systems allow the specification of the following primitive data types: 1) integer; 2) float (decimal); or 3) string Simple range validation may examine user input for consistency with a minimum/maximum range

Forms, Queries, and Reports A form is a friendly interface for entering or modifying a table A query provides a subset of a table based on a criteria A report presents data in an attractive format

Form Wizard Please refer to notes Click >> to select all fields for form Field Names

Report Report Types Columnar (vertical) report Simplest type Lists every field for every record in a single column (one record per page) Tabular report Displays selected fields in a row One record per row

Report Wizard Easiest way to create a report Specify the table or query Select one or more fields Select layout (columnar/ tabular) Select a style Modify the resulting report

Report Wizard (Cont’d) Report Header Page Header Detail Section

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