Databases in the Workplace
Databases In the Workplace klee CIS/207
This paper will discuss the different databases in my organization with regards to what the databases are being used for and any improvements that can be made. To understand how a database helps the day-to-day functions of a business one must first know what a database does and how it works. A database is a “systematized collection of data that can be accessed immediately and manipulated by a data-processing system for a specific purpose” (English Dictionary). So a database is an application or tool used for storing and arranging information efficiently. Databases are very important tools in the workplace, if a company’s data is stored on a typically spreadsheet problems would arise fairly quickly. A spreadsheet is very hard to retrieve data except basic queries, and there is no multiple user access, and perhaps the most troublesome issue is that there is no integrity and data validation. In databases the structure is based on tables which have columns and rows that will store specific data. A row “in a table is referred to as a record. Records are where the individual pieces of information are stored” (Microsoft). Columns will identify the data in the table with the rows showing the records. The main types of databases are; relational and flat-file databases. “A flat file database is a database designed around a single table. The flat file design puts all database information in one table, or list, with fields to represent all parameters. A flat file may contain many fields, often, with duplicate data that are prone to data corruption” (databasedev). Flat file databases are good for small amounts of data that store simple data such as list and data values. Relational databases deals with more than one database at a time. It forms a relationship between tables that are manipulated to suite the user needs. The two main databases that I use at my job would be Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server.
This paper will discuss the different databases in my organization with regards to what the databases are being used for and any improvements that can be made. To understand how a database helps the day-to-day functions of a business one must first know what a database does and how it works. A database is a “systematized collection of data that can be accessed immediately and manipulated by a data-processing system for a specific purpose” (English Dictionary). So a database is an application or tool used for storing and arranging information efficiently. Databases are very important tools in the workplace, if a company’s data is stored on a typically spreadsheet problems would arise fairly quickly. A spreadsheet is very hard to retrieve data except basic queries, and there is no multiple user access, and perhaps the most troublesome issue is that there is no integrity and data validation. In databases the structure is based on tables which have columns and rows that will store specific data. A row “in a table is referred to as a record. Records are where the individual pieces of information are stored” (Microsoft). Columns will identify the data in the table with the rows showing the records. The main types of databases are; relational and flat-file databases. “A flat file database is a database designed around a single table. The flat file design puts all database information in one table, or list, with fields to represent all parameters. A flat file may contain many fields, often, with duplicate data that are prone to data corruption” (databasedev). Flat file databases are good for small amounts of data that store simple data such as list and data values. Relational databases deals with more than one database at a time. It forms a relationship between tables that are manipulated to suite the user needs. The two main databases that I use at my job would be Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server.
References: database. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved November 02, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/database http://www.databasedev.co.uk/flatfile-vs-rdbms.html. Retrieved November 02, 2011 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/database-basics-HA010064450.aspx. Retrived 02, 2011