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COMPONENTS OF DATABASE SYSTEM

A database system is composed of four components;
Data
Hardware
Software
Users
which coordinate with each other to form an effective database system.
1) Data - It is a very important component of the database system. Most of the organizations generate, store
and process 1arge amount of data. The data acts a bridge between the machine parts i.e. hardware and
software and the users which directly access it or access it through some application programs.
Data may be of different types.
User Data - It consists of a table(s) of data called Relation(s) where Column(s) are called fields of
attributes and rows are called Records for tables. A Relation must be structured properly.
Metadata - A description of the structure of the database is known as Metadata. It basically means "data
about data". System Tables store the Metadata which includes.
- Number of Tables and Table Names
- Number of fields and field Names
- Primary Key Fields
Application Metadata - It stores the structure and format of Queries, reports and other applications
components. '
2. Hardware - The hardware consists of the secondary storage devices such as magnetic disks (hard disk, zip disk,
floppy disks), optical disks (CD-ROM), magnetic tapes etc. on which data is stored together with the Input/Output
devices (mouse, keyboard, printers), processors, main memory etc. which are used for storing and retrieving the
data in a fast and efficient manner. Since database can range from those of a single user with a desktop computer
to those on mainframe computers with thousand of users, therefore proper care should be taken for choosing
appropriate hardware devices for a required database.

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3. Software - The Software part consists of DBMS which acts as a bridge between the user and the database or in
other words, software that interacts with the users, application programs, and database and files system of a
particular storage media (hard disk, magnetic tapes etc.) to insert, update, delete and retrieve data. For performing
these operations such as insertion, deletion and updation we can either use the Query Languages like SQL, QUEL,
Gupta SQL or application softwares such as Visual 3asic, Developer etc.
4. Users - Users are those persons who need the information from the database to carry out their primary business
responsibilities i.e. Personnel, Staff, Clerical, Managers, Executives etc. On the basis of the job and requirements
made by them they are provided access to the database totally or partially.
The various types of users which can access the database are:-
Database Administrators (DBA)
Database Designers
End Users
Components of a DBMS
DBMSs are the technology tools that directly support managing organizational data. With a DBMS you can create
a database including its logical structure and constraints, you can manipulate the data and information it contains,
or you can directly create a simple database application or reporting tool. Human administrators, through a user
interface, perform certain tasks with the tool such as creating a database, converting an existing database, or
archiving a large and growing database. Business applications, which perform the higher level tasks of managing
business processes, interact with end users and other applications and, to store and manage data, rely on and
directly operate their own underlying database through a standard programming interface like ODBC.


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Database Engine:
The Database Engine is the core service for storing, processing, and securing data. The Database Engine
provides controlled access and rapid transaction processing to meet the requirements of the most demanding data
consuming applications within your enterprise.Use the Database Engine to create relational databases for online
transaction processing or online analytical processing data. This includes creating tables for storing data, and
database objects such as indexes, views, and stored procedures for viewing, managing, and securing data. You can
use SQL Server Management Studio to manage the database objects, and SQL Server Profiler for capturing server
events.

Data dictionary:
A data dictionary is a reserved space within a database which is used to store information about the database
itself. A data dictionary is a set of table and views which can only be read and never altered.Most data dictionaries
contain different information about the data used in the enterprise. In terms of the database representation of the
data, the data table defines all schema objects including views, tables, clusters, indexes, sequences, synonyms,
procedures, packages, functions, triggers and many more. This will ensure that all these things follow one standard
defined in the dictionary. The data dictionary also defines how much space has been allocated for and / or
currently in used by all the schema objects.A data dictionary is used when finding information about users, objects,
schema and storage structures. Every time a data definition language (DDL) statement is issued, the data
dictionary becomes modified.
A data dictionary may contain information such as:
! Database design information
! Stored SQL procedures
! User permissions
! User statistics
! Database process information
! Database growth statistics
! Database performance statistics
Query Processor :
A relational database consists of many parts, but at its heart are two major components: the storage engine
and the query processor. The storage engine writes data to and reads data from the disk. It manages records,
controls concurrency, and maintains log files.The query processor accepts SQL syntax, selects a plan for executing
the syntax, and then executes the chosen plan. The user or program interacts with the query processor, and the
query processor in turn interacts with the storage engine. The query processor isolates the user from the details of
execution: The user specifies the result, and the query processor determines how this result is obtained.

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The query processor components include
! DDL interpreter
! DML compiler
! Query evaluation engine
Report writer:
Also called a report generator, a program, usually part of a database management system, that extracts
information from one or more files and presents the information in a specified format. Most report writers allow
you to select records that meet certain conditions and to display selected fields in rows and columns. You can also
format data into pie charts, bar charts, and other diagrams. Once you have created a format for a report, you can
save the format specifications in a file and continue reusing it for new data.
Database User
There are four different types of database users.
Application programmers:- A person who prepares application program are called application programmer.
Application programs operates on the data in all the usual ways: retrieving information, creating new information,
deleting or changing existing information.
Sophisticated users:- Sophisticated users interact with the system without writing programs. Instead, they form
their requests in a database query language. Each such query is submitted to a query processor whose function is to
take a DML statement and break it down into instructions that the database manager understands.
Specialized users:-Some sophisticated users write specialized database application that do not fit into the
traditional data processing framework. Among these application are computer-aided design systems, knowledge-
base and expert systems, systems that store data with complex data types eg:-For Graphics and Audio data.
End users:-Unsophisticated users interact with the system by invoking one of the permanent application programs
that have been written previously. Thus they are persons who uses the information generated by a computer based
system. Retrival is the most common function for this class of user.
Naive users: They are unsophisticated users who interact with the system by using permanent application
programs (e.g. automated teller machine).

Data abstraction

It can be summed up as follows.

1. When the DBMS hides certain details of how data is stored and maintained, it provides what is called as the
abstract view of data.
2. This is to simplify user-interaction with the system.
3. Complexity (of data and data structure) is hidden from users through several levels of abstraction.


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Data abstraction is used for following purposes:
1. To provide abstract view of data.
2. To hide complexity from user.
3. To simplify user interaction with DBMS.

Levels of data abstraction
There are three levels of data abstraction.

1. Physical level: It describes how a record (e.g., customer) is stored. Features are:
a) Lowest level of abstraction.
b) It describes how data are actually stored.
c) It describes low-level complex data structures in detail.
d) At this level, efficient algorithms to access data are defined.

2. Logical level: It describes what data stored in database, and the relationships among the data. Features are:
a) It is next-higher level of abstraction. Here whole Database is divided into small simple structures.
b) Users at this level need not be aware of the physical-level complexity used to implement the simple structures.
c) Here the aim is ease of use.
d) Generally, database administrators (DBAs) work at logical level of abstraction.

3. View level: Application programs hide details of data types. Views can also hide information (e.g., salary) for
security purposes. Features are:

a) It is the highest level of abstraction.
b) It describes only a part of the whole Database for particular group of users.
c) This view hides all complexity.
d) It exists only to simplify user interaction with system.
e) The system may provide many views for the whole system.


Instances and Schemas

Instances and Schemas are similar to types and variables in programming languages.


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1.Schema
a: The overall design of a database is called database schema. E.g., the database consists of information
about a set of customers and accounts and the relationship between them. It is analogous to variable along with its
type information in a program.
Types of Schemas (partitioned according to levels of abstraction):
a. Physical schema: It is database design at the physical level. It is hidden below logical schema, and can be
changed easily without affecting application programs.
b. Logical schema: It is database design at the logical level. Programmers construct applications using logical
schema. It is by far the most important schema, in terms of its effect on application programs.
c. Sub schema: It is schema at view level.

2. Instance:

It is the actual content of the database at a particular point in time. It is analogous to the value of a variable.

Data Models
A model is a representation of reality, real world objects and events, and their associations. It is an abstraction that
concentrates on the essential, inherent aspects of an organization and ignore the accidental properties. A data model
represents the organization itself. Let should provide the basic concepts and notations that will allow database designers and
end users unambiguously and accurately to communicate their understanding of the organizational data.
Data Model can be defined as an integrated collection of concepts for describing and manipulating data, relationships
between data, and constraints on the data in an organization.
data model is a collection of concepts for describing data, its relationships, and its constraints provides a clearer
and more accurate description and representation of data Standard platform that enables database designers and
end-users to communicate Come in three varieties:
A data model comprises of three components:
A structural part, consisting of a set of rules according to which databases can be constructed.

A manipulative part. Defining the types of operation that are allowed on the data (this includes the operations that
are used or updating or retrieving data from the database and for changing the structure of the database).
Possibly a set of integrity rules, which ensures that the data is accurate.
The purpose of a data model is to represent data and to make the data understandable.
There have been many data models proposed in the literature. They fall into three broad categories:



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Object Based Data Models
Physical Data Models
Record Based Data Models
The object based and record based data models are used to describe data at the conceptual and external levels, the
physical data model is used to describe data at the internal level.
Importance of Data models
Data models representations, usually graphical, of complex real-world data structures
Facilitate interaction among the designer, the applications programmer and the end user
End-users have different views and needs for data
Data model organizes data for various users

Categories or Types of Data model
1. Hierarchical Model

The hierarchical data model organizes data in a tree structure. There is a hierarchy of parent and child data
segments. This structure implies that a record can have repeating information, generally in the child data
segments. Data in a series of records, which have a set of field values attached to it. It collects all the
instances of a specific record together as a record type. These record types are the equivalent of tables in
the relational model, and with the individual records being the equivalent of rows. To create links between
these record types, the hierarchical model uses Parent Child Relationships. These are a 1:N mapping
between record types. This is done by using trees, like set theory used in the relational model, "borrowed"
from maths. For example, an organization might store information about an employee, such as name,
employee number, department, salary. The organization might also store information about an employee's
children, such as name and date of birth. The employee and children data forms a hierarchy, where the
employee data represents the parent segment and the children data represents the child segment. If an
employee has three children, then there would be three child segments associated with one employee
segment. In a hierarchical database the parent-child relationship is one to many. This restricts a child
segment to having only one parent segment. Hierarchical DBMSs were popular from the late 1960s, with
the introduction of IBM's Information Management System (IMS) DBMS, through the 1970s.


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Hierarchical data files permits records to be grouped together. This allows a superior-subordinate or parent-
child relationship (a single one-to-many relationship) to be defined between records. In simple forms, the
superior or parent records are used to collect information that is common to all the subordinate/child
records of the same group. This has an immediate effect of reducing redundancy with the data base.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Hierarchical model
Advantages!
Many features form the foundation for current data models
Generated a large installed base of programmers
Who developed solid business applications
Disadvantages!
Complex to implement
Difficult to manage
Lacks structural independence
Implementation limitations
Lack of standards (Company vs. Industry or Open)



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2. Network Model

The popularity of the network data model coincided with the popularity of the hierarchical data model. Some data
were more naturally modeled with more than one parent per child. So, the network model permitted the modeling
of many-to-many relationships in data. In 1971, the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL) formally
defined the network model. The basic data modeling construct in the network model is the set construct. A set
consists of an owner record type, a set name, and a member record type. A member record type can have that role
in more than one set, hence the multiparent concept is supported. An owner record type can also be a member or
owner in another set. The data model is a simple network, and link and intersection record types (called junction
records by IDMS) may exist, as well as sets between them . Thus, the complete network of relationships is
represented by several pairwise sets; in each set some (one) record type is owner (at the tail of the network arrow)
and one or more record types are members (at the head of the relationship arrow). Usually, a set defines a 1:M
relationship, although 1:1 is permitted. The CODASYL network model is based on mathematical set theory.


Resembles hierarchical model
Difference child can have multiple parents
Collection of records in 1: M relationships
Set Relationship of at least two record types
Owner Equivalent to the hierarchical models parent
Member Equivalent to the hierarchical models child
->In the network data model, the database consists of a collection of set-type occurrences.
->Each set-type occurrence has one occurrence of OWNER RECORD, with zero or more occurrences of MEMBER

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RECORDS.
->The member sets belonging to different owners are disjoint.
->To define a network database one needs to define:

(a) the database record types which consist of data items, and



(b) the set-types.



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ADVANTAGES
! Provide very efficient High-speed retrieval

! Simplicity:- The network model is conceptually simple and easy to design. Ability to handle more
relationship types The network model can handle Ease of data access"the one-to-many and many-
to- many relationships. In the network database terminology, a relationship is a set. Each set
comprises of two types of records:- an owner record and a member record, In a network model an
application can access an owner record and all Data Integrity In a network model, no"the member
records within a set. member can exist without an owner. A user must therefore first define the
owner record and then the member record. This ensures the integrity

! Data Independence The network model draws a clear line of demarcation between programs and the
complex physical storage details. The application programs work independently of the data. Any
changes made in the data characteristics do not affect the application program.

DISADVANTAGES

! System complexity
In a network model, data are accessed one record at a time. This males it essential for the database
designers, administrators, and programmers to be familiar with the internal data structures to gain
access to the data. Therefore, a user friendly database management system cannot be created using
the network model

! Lack of Structural independence.
Making structural modifications to the database is very difficult in the network database model as
the data access method is navigational. Any changes made to the database structure require the
application programs to be modified before they can access data. Though the network model
achieves data independence, it still fails to achieve structural independence.

3. Relational Model
RDBMS - relational database management system) A database based on the relational model developed
by E.F. Codd. A relational database allows the definition of data structures, storage and retrieval
operations and integrity constraints. In such a database the data and relations between them are organised
in tables. A table is a collection of records and each record in a table contains the same fields.

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Properties of Relational Tables:
! Values Are Atomic
! Each Row is Unique
! Column Values Are of the Same Kind
! The Sequence of Columns is Insignificant
! The Sequence of Rows is Insignificant
! Each Column Has a Unique Name
Certain fields may be designated as keys, which means that searches for specific values of that field will
use indexing to speed them up. Where fields in two different tables take values from the same set, a join
operation can be performed to select related records in the two tables by matching values in those fields.
Often, but not always, the fields will have the same name in both tables. For example, an "orders" table
might contain (customer-ID, product-code) pairs and a "products" table might contain (product-code,
price) pairs so to calculate a given customer's bill you would sum the prices of all products ordered by that
customer by joining on the product-code fields of the two tables. This can be extended to joining multiple
tables on multiple fields. Because these relationships are only specified at retreival time, relational
databases are classed as dynamic database management system. The RELATIONAL database model is
based on the Relational Algebra.
Before the relational data model, existing data models had no particular good way to separate the conceptual
designs from implementations. Pre-relational models depended upon being able to determine explicitly where
and how individual records were stored. Early relational proponents argued that the relational data model
viewed information logically rather than physically, but this is not quite correct. Earlier data models
associated the logical and physical aspects of information together; logically-related information was stored in
physical proximity within a data file. The relational data model first separated the logical from the physical
aspects.
The relational data model looks at information as an unordered collection of "relations." Each relation is
populated with unordered "tuples" of the same unordered "field" structure. Fields may only contain values of
a well-defined ("atomic") domain or the null value. The unordered aspect needs to be emphasized. For
expository purposes, relations are often viewed as "tables". The tuples constitute the "rows" of the table;
values for a specific field constitute "columns". However, the "table data model" tends to impose a very non-
relational ordering on both tuples and fields. Relations are an abstraction of how data is stored; tables are just
one of many possible implementations.

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4. Object-oriented Model
It should not be surprising whatsoever by now that the OO approach to data modeling is that all
information can be stored in objects. The problem arises in trying to get OO proponents to agree upon
exactly what an "object" is supposed to be. Objects tend to be defined at a very general level. There are
many things that an object could be; many features that may be implemented. There are relatively few that
an object is required to be.
For instance, in some ways, an object looks a lot like an "entity instance" from the ERM or a "tuple" from
the relational model. Objects may also include some kind of behavior that manipulates its fields or
attributes. On the other hand, an object need not have any such behavior, which makes entities and tuples
perfectly good examples of objects. Unfortunately, this provides a distorted notion of what objects are to
practitioners who have mastered the ERM or relational model. It would quickly raise questions about the
value of OO approaches if it did not seem to provide anything different from what could be done with
existing models.
Consequently, the principles for the OO data model are not as well-established as for other models. Even
the vocabulary is sometimes at odds. There are at least two distinct viewpoints for OO that have emerged:
an analysis view that defines a class as the common intersections of features shared by distinct objects, and
the development view that defines a class as a blueprint for instantiating objects with common features. To
confuse the issue further, another definition of class means the collection of all objects either instantiated
from the same blueprint (development view) or that happen to possess the same shared properties (analysis
view). Implementation of OO programming languages (where OO has been remarkably successful) has
created some confusion about what features are needed in an OO data model. Programming languages are
definitely in the development camp.

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OO masters deem something to be an object because it is useful to consider that thing as if it were an
object. Objects include state (attributes or fields) and dynamic behavior (methods). Object behavior is
triggered by receiving a "message" or "event". These triggers may originate externally or within the object.
In regards to data models, some value has been shown to use objects as shown in the following table:
5. Semi structured Model

In semistructured data model, the information that is normally associated with a schema is contained within
the data, which is sometimes called ``self-describing''. In such database there is no clear separation between
the data and the schema, and the degree to which it is structured depends on the application. In some forms
of semistructured data there is no separate schema, in others it exists but only places loose constraints on
the data. Semi-structured data is naturally modelled in terms of graphs which contain labels which give
semantics to its underlying structure. Such databases subsume the modelling power of recent extensions of
flat relational databases, to nested databases which allow the nesting (or encapsulation) of entities, and to
object databases which, in addition, allow cyclic references between objects.

Semistructured data has recently emerged as an important topic of study for a variety of reasons. First,
there are data sources such as the Web, which we would like to treat as databases but which cannot be
constrained by a schema. Second, it may be desirable to have an extremely flexible format for data
exchange between disparate databases. Third, even when dealing with structured data, it may be helpful to
view it as semistructured for the purposes of browsing.

In semistructured data model, the information that is normally associated with a schema is contained within
the data, which is sometimes called ``self-describing''. In such database there is no clear separation between
the data and the schema, and the degree to which it is structured depends on the application. There are
couple more models but you don't have to know them unless you are into Database background.

6. Associative Model

The associative model divides the real-world things about which data is to be recorded into two sorts:
Entities are things that have discrete, independent existence. An entitys existence does not depend on any
other thing. Associations are things whose existence depends on one or more other things, such that if any
of those things ceases to exist, then the thing itself ceases to exist or becomes meaningless.

An associative database comprises two data structures:

1. A set of items, each of which has a unique identifier, a name and a type.
2. A set of links, each of which has a unique identifier, together with the unique identifiers of three other
things, that represent the source, verb and target of a fact that is recorded about the source in the database.
Each of the three things identified by the source, verb and target may be either a link or an item.


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