Database management is a system of managing information that a company needs to run its business operations. It involves storing data, distributing it to applications and users and editing it when needed and monitoring changes to the data and preventing data corruption due to unexpected failure. It is an integral part of the overall infrastructure of a business that supports decision making, corporate growth, and compliance with laws such as the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were developed in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) which allowed huge amounts of data to be stored and retrieved for a range of reasons. From calculating inventory, to aiding complex financial accounting functions as well as human resource functions.
A database consists of tables that are organized according to a certain scheme, such as one-to-many relationships. It uses primary key to identify records, and also allows cross-references among tables. Each table contains a set of fields, referred to as attributes, that represent facts about data entities. Relational models, developed by E. F. “Ted” Codd in the 1970s at IBM as a database, are the most well-known database type in the present. The concept is based on normalizing data to make it simpler to use. It also makes it easier to update data without the need to change several databases.
The majority of DBMSs are able to support multiple types of databases through different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level is concerned with cost, scalability, as well as 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 could include a mix of different external views based on different models of data and could include virtual tables that are calculated using generic data to enhance the performance.
