Understanding what a database is is not difficult. We are constantly faced with its varieties, without even knowing it. For example, in any production facility, in any institution where people work, equipment is used, there are databases where information about staff units is entered, i.e. about the composition of employees, personnel, about the equipment that is used (inventory). A library collection of files is also a good example of a database.
Definition
So what is a database? This is information gathered together and in a special way organized on a topic, within any subject area. And if a few decades ago the necessary information was recorded and stored on paper, now all the material of interest is entered into the computer and stored in the computer version.
Classification
According to the content of the material, the databases are divided into factual and documentary. Factographic ones contain brief information about the described objects. Information is provided in a specific form and format. For example, if we are talking about a library database, then each book contains bibliographic information such as the year and place of publication, author, title, etc. The content of the work, the text of the books will not contain such a database. The personnel department in its database will save personal information about employees - name, date and place of birth, graduated schools, acquired professions, places of work, etc.
The documentary database can contain a huge amount of diverse information: these are texts, graphics, multimedia files. So, the discography of a pop artist is an example of a documentary database. From it you can learn about the albums released by the singer, about songwriters, listen to the songs themselves, watch the video clips shot on them.
Thanks to modern technology, the boundaries between factual and documentary databases are no longer sharp. Now you can easily connect information from one type of database to another.
An information warehouse is what a database is, and access to a huge number of them thanks to the Internet has become a very, very simple task.
By the type of processing and submission of information, the databases are divided into relational and network.
What is a relational database, you can figure it out if you place the information in the form of tables. The tables will be interconnected. So, the inventory of toys in the storehouse’s warehouse can be presented in the form of a table where the types of toys (cubs, dogs, elephants, etc.), the number of each species (cubs - 20, dogs - 35, etc.) will be listed in columns. , price, lined up the total cost of the entire product.
The relational database is very easy to use and familiar for a long time. A school diary with a lesson schedule, homework notes, grades and comments is a tabular database. The schedule of flights of trains or buses at stations is also a relational database.
A relational database consists of rows and columns. A table row is otherwise called a record, and a column is called a field. In one record, information is presented about one system object, of which the table is a model.
A more complex database model is the network base. In fact, the network database is the Internet itself, the World Wide Web, and the Global Network. Thanks to hyperlinks, millions of documents are linked. So they form a single distribution network database. And almost any Internet user can connect to it and get the necessary information.
In addition, if several computers are connected to one main one and can, thanks to it, simultaneously work on the network, they form a local network or a local database.
Here is what a database is and how it works.