Chapter 4

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Explain the difference between database and filebased legacy systems. Describe what a relational database is and how it organizes data. Explain the difference between logical and physical views of a database. Create a set of well-structured tables to properly store data in a relational database.

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Ashton Fleming, the accountant for S&S, believes that the best way to provide Susan Gonzalez and Scott Parry with easy access to the information they need to run their business is to build S&S s new AIS as a database system.

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Ashton decides to prepare a brief report for them addressing the following questions: What is a database system? What is a relational database system? How do you design a relational database?

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This chapter explains what a database is and how it differs from a file-oriented system. It also describes the structure of a relational database system. The chapter concludes by discussing the basic steps involved in designing a database.

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Data a collection of facts made up of text, numbers and dates: Murray 35000 7/18/86 Information - the meaning given to data in the way it is interpreted: Mr. Murray is a sales person whose annual salary is $35,000 and whose hire date is July 18, 1986.

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Is to transform
Data Information Knowledge Action

Data driven decision making

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What is a file?

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A structured collection of related data An filing cabinet, an address book, a telephone directory, a timetable, etc. Google and your email is a database School Student Information System

Fields

Records

Name Graff Harris Ipswich

GatorLink rgraff bharris zipswich

Phone 392-3900 392-5555 846-5656

College Pharmacy Medicine PHHP

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Name Graff Harris Ipswich

User rgraff bharris zipswich

Phone 392-3900 392-5555 846-5656

College Pharmacy Medicine PHHP

To ensure that each record is unique in each table, we can set one field to be a Primary Key field. A Primary Key is a field that that will contain no duplicates and no blank values. Foreign Keys link to data in other tables
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A set of all related records forms a file (e.g., the student file). If this university only had three students and five fields for each student, then the entire file would be depicted below.

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A set of interrelated, centrally coordinated files forms a database.

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Two basic types of files are used to store data. The master file, which is similar to a ledger in a manual system. The transaction file, which is similar to a journal in a manual system.

1 2

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For many years, companies created new files and programs each time an information need arose. This increase of master files created problems:
1 Often the same data was stored in two or more separate files. 2 The specific data values stored in the different files were not

always consistent.

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File 1 Fact A Fact B Fact C File 2 Fact B Fact D Fact E File 3 Fact A Fact G Fact E
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Sales Program

Shipping Program

Billing Program

The database approach views data as an organizational resource that should be used by, and managed for, the entire organization, not just the originating department or function. Its focus is data integration and data sharing. Integration is achieved by combining master files into larger pools of data that can be accessed by many application programs.

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Database management system (DBMS) is the program that manages and controls access to the database. Database system is the combination of the database, the DBMS, and the application program that uses the database. Database administrator (DBA) is the person responsible for the database.

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Database Fact A Fact B Fact C Fact D Fact E Database management system

Sales Program

Shipping Program

Billing Program

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As accountants, you are likely to audit or work for companies that use database technology to store, process, and report accounting transactions.
 Many accountants work directly with databases and

will enter, process, and query databases.  Some will develop and evaluate internal controls necessary to ensure database integrity.  Others will be involved in the design and management of databases.
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Describe what a relational database is and how it organizes data.

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A data model is an abstract representation of the contents of a database. The relational data model represents everything in the database as being stored in the form of tables. Technically, these tables are called relations.

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Each row in a relation, called a tuple, contains data about a specific occurrence of the type of entity represented by that table.

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A relational database is a collection of tables from which data can be accessed in many different ways without having to reorganize the database tables. DON T DUPLICATE DATA


That is, once relationships are created, tables can talk to each other. We can link (relate) the tables to find:
Which schools are in a system? Which students are in which class? Which classes are filling up?

Relationships

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Explain the difference between logical and physical views of a database.

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A major advantage of database systems over file-oriented systems is that the database systems separate the logical and physical view of data. What is the logical view?
 It is how the user or programmer conceptually

organizes and understands the data.

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What is the physical view?

 It refers to how and where the data are physically

arranged and stored on disk, tape, CD-ROM, or other media.

The DBMS controls the database so that users can access, query, or update it without reference to how or where the data are physically stored.

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Program-data independence is the separation of the logical and physical views of data.

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A schema describes the logical structure of a database. There are three levels of schemas:
1 Conceptual-level schema 2 External-level schema 3 Internal-level schema

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The conceptual-level schema is an organizationwide view of the entire database. The external-level schema consists of a set of individual user views of portions of the database, also referred to as a subschema. The internal-level schema provides a low-level view of the database.
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The data dictionary contains information about the structure of the database. For each data element stored in the database, such as the customer number, there is a corresponding record in the data dictionary describing it.

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The data dictionary is often one of the first applications of a newly implemented database system. What are some inputs to the data dictionary?
records of any new or deleted data elements changes in names, descriptions, or uses of existing data elements

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What are some outputs of the data dictionary?

reports useful to programmers, database designers, and users of the information system lists of programs in which a data item is used lists of all synonyms for the data elements in a particular file

What are some sample reports?

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Every DBMS must provide a means of performing the three basic functions:
1 Creating the database 2 Changing the database 3 Querying the database

The sets of commands used to perform these functions are referred to as the data definition, data manipulation, and data query languages.

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The data definition language (DDL) is used to...

build the data dictionary. initialize or create the database. describe the logical views for each individual user or programmer. specify any limitations or constraints on security imposed on database record or fields.

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The data manipulation language (DML) is used for data maintenance. What does it include?
updating portions of the database inserting portions of the database deleting portions of the database

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The data query language (DQL) is used to interrogate the database. The DQL retrieves, sorts, orders, and presents subsets of the database in response to user queries.

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Create a set of well-structured tables to properly store data in a relational database.

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1. 2. 3.

4.

Each column in a row must be single valued. Primary keys cannot be null. Foreign keys, if not null, must have values that correspond to the value of a primary key in an other relation. All non-key attributes in a table should describe a characteristic about the object identified by the primary key.

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Update Anomaly: When changes (updates) to data values are not correctly recorded.
 Instead of having to update once, each record

in the single table has to be updated individually in order to avoid inconsistencies in the database.

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Insert Anomaly: There is no way to store information about one entity in the database without it being associated with another entity
 In the text, we would not be able to store

information on new customers without their being associated with transactions first!

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Delete Anomaly: Unintended results arising from deleting a row of data pertaining to one entity and resulting in the deletion of data regarding another entity as well.
 In the text, if a particular Inventory item were

discontinued and hence removed from the database table, we would lose information on the customer associated with that inventory item as well.

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Normalization
 Starts with the assumption that all data is initially stored in

a large non-normalized table.  This table is then decomposed using a set of normalization rules to create a set of tables in the Third Normal Form.

Semantic Data Modeling

 The database designer uses his/her knowledge about the

business structure to create a set of relational tables.

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Database systems have the potential to significantly alter the nature of external reporting. Perhaps the most significant effect of database systems will be in the way that accounting information is used in decision making.

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