Database management is the process for managing information that supports the organization’s business processes. It involves storing data, distributing it to users and application programs and then modifying it if necessary and monitoring the changes in the data and preventing the data from becoming damaged by unexpected failure. It is an integral part of the entire informational infrastructure of a business that supports decision making in corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws like the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were invented in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) that allowed the storage and retrieve large amounts of data for a variety of purposes, ranging from calculating inventory to supporting complex financial accounting and human resources functions.
A database is a set of tables that store data in accordance with a specific scheme, such as one-to-many relationships. It uses primary keys to identify records, and allow cross-references between tables. Each table has a set of fields, known as attributes, which provide information about the entities that comprise the data. Relational models, created by E. F. “Ted” Codd in the 1970s at IBM as a database, are the most well-known database type in the present. This model is based on normalizing data to make it more user-friendly. It also makes it easier to update data, avoiding the need to modify many sections of the database.
Most DBMSs can support multiple types of databases by providing different internal and external levels of organization syberdin.nl. The internal level deals with costs, scalability and other operational issues like the physical layout of the database. The external level is the representation of the database on user interfaces and applications. It may include a mix of different external views that are based on different data models. It may include virtual table that are computed using generic data to enhance the performance.