COURSE NAME: Database Management

TOPIC: Database Concepts

Database Components
Data Definition Language or Data Description Language (DDL) is a language that allows the
definition of data structures, data types, and constraints on data. E.g. SQL examples are
CREATE TABLE, CREATE INDEX, ALTER, and DROP statements.
Data Manipulation Language (DML) is a family of computer languages used by computer
programs and/or database users to insert delete and update data in a database.
Report Generator - take data from a source such as an XML data feed and then use it to
produce a document in a format which satisfies a particular human readership. Report generation
functionality is almost always present in database systems, where the source of the data is the
database itself.
Query Language - A specialized language for requesting information from a database, for
example, the query. Example: SELECT ALL WHERE age > 30 AND name = "Smith"

Database Concepts
Structural dependence - A file system exhibits structural dependence, which means that access
to a file is dependent on its structure. For example, adding a customer date-of-birth field to the
CUSTOMER, given this change, none of the previous programs will work with the new
CUSTOMER file structure.
Therefore, all of the file system programs must be modified to conform to the new file structure.
In short, because the file system application programs are affected by change in the file structure,
they exhibit structural dependence.
Conversely, structural independence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file
structure without affecting the application programs ability to access the data. It is important
because without it any changes such as adding a field would render applications which access the
new file structure inoperable.

Data dependence - Even changes in the characteristics of data, such as changing a field from
integer to decimal, require changes in all the programs that access the file. Because all data
access programs are subject to change when any of the files data storage characteristics change
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(that is, changing the data type), the file system is said to exhibit data dependence.
Conversely, data independence exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage
characteristics without affecting the application programs ability to access the data.
Data independence is a form of database management that keeps data separated from all
programs that make use of the data. As a cornerstone for the idea of a DBMS,
data independence ensures that the data cannot be redefined or reorganized by any of the
programs that make use of the data. In this manner, the data remains accessible, but is also stable
and cannot be corrupted by the applications using it.
Database management within the environment of a centralized DBMS relies on the process of
data independence. While data transparency still exists as far as the ability of different
applications to access and use the data for completing tasks, no program or application can read
and then begin to make changes to the data itself. The consistency of the data makes the overall
process of maintaining and managing a single database or multiple databases within a single
environment much easier.
The concept of data independence is different from another approach referred to as data
dependence. With this approach, the data used to run an application is actually represented in
the source code for the program. The ability of the data to be modified by the program, and vice
versa, means that the data is not considered constant and may be changed either by initiating the
change through modifications to the source code or through using the program in other ways to
adapt the core data.
One of the functions of data independence is to restrict access to the storage structure of the data
by the user applications. By effectively hiding the specifics of the structure from the applications,
the potential for any one application to alter the nature of the data becomes impossible. Thus, the
essential data retains its integrity and remains consistent no matter how many databases or
database applications access the core data.
Data independence is normally thought of in terms of two levels or types. Logical data
independence makes it possible to change the structure of the data independently of modifying
the applications or programs that make use of the data. There is no need to rewrite current
applications as part of the process of adding to or removing data from then system.
The second type or level of data independence is known as physical data independence. This
approach has to do with altering the organization or storage procedures related to the data, rather
than modifying the data itself. Accomplishing this shift in file organization or the indexing
strategy used for the data does not require any modification to the external structure of the
applications, meaning that users of the applications are not likely to notice any difference at all in
the function of their programs.

The relational database model gives us the luxury of forgetting the actual physical data storage
characteristics, thereby allowing us to concentrate on the logical view of the database. That is,
we may focus on the human perception of data storage rather than on the often difficult-tocomprehend manner in which the computer sees those same data. Since the relational model
achieves both data independence and structural independence, it becomes much easier to
design the database and to manage its contents.

Tutorial Questions
1. Identify four components of a DBMS.
2. Differentiate between structural dependence and structural independence.
3. What is the difference between data dependence and data independence?
4. What is the difference between Logical data independence and physical
data independence?
5. Explain the importance of data independence.

Answer the following True or False:

6. The relational database exhibits Structural dependence?
7. The file based system exhibits data independence?