RELATIONAL DATABASE THEORY
Moving on to the second focus of the course, this blogpost focuses on databases, specifically relational databases. A database consists of collections of organized information that can be easily accessed, managed, and retrieved. These are managed using database managements systems (DBMS), which are softwares that allow users to update, retrieve, and define data. The type of database we are looking at for this course are relational databases. At its most basic form, a relational database organizes data into tables and relates them to one another. They consist of more than one table with one to many relationships with other tables. These databases are used to track inventories, process electronic transactions, manage huge amounts of mission-critical customer information, and much more. A relational database can be considered for any information need in which data points relate to each other and must be managed in a secure, rules-based, consistent way. They can be created using any tote of database system such as MySQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL.
As previously mentioned, a relational database stores data points in the form of tables. Each row in the table represents a record. Each record describes information about a single item, such as a specific college course. Each row is unique and is identified with a primary key, while every column is composed of attributes that describe characteristics of each record, such as the class time. The combination of records and attributes make up the entity, which is what is being described. For instances, the entity name of the described example would be College Course.
Relational database is a helpful management system as it allows users to filter out unwanted data. The use of tables provide a straightforward, efficient and flexible way to manage data. An advantage of relational databases is that a single database can be spread through several tables. In addition, this type of database is the best at maintaining consistency across copies of the database, known as instances, since the structure of the database remains unchanged when information is edited.
Another strength of relational model emerged as developers began to use structured query language (SQL) to write and query data in the database.. Relational Databases use queries, such as INSERT, DROP, DELETE, and SELECT to change and retrieve the desired data. This allows users to navigate databases more easily and at a faster rate.
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Brian,
You did a good job describing what SQL is and why it is important. Databases are being used more and more everyday, and it is important to have a language that allows us to use them efficiently. I am currently learning SQL and I can see how its application is beneficial in managing databases and the advantages there are to being proficient in it.
Abdul,
I hadn't heard about this type of databases until now, and i think you did a good job explaining what it is. I found the diagram really helpful in visualizing how the information is stored through this database system. Object-oriented databases seem to be more efficient in sharing data between different users than relational databases.
Michael,
I found really interesting the predictions you were able to make in terms of how databases are going to help create more efficient designs by accessing previous data and using AI. I think that this relates to what was mentioned in class for generative design, since AI would be able to access various databases in order to generate a design that will provide the highest performance at the lowest cost.
3 comments:
Manon,
You made an interesting point in your blog post - The use of queries such as DROP and DELETE allows for an efficient way to flow through your database. The use of these features can allow users a faster way to navigate through their spreadsheets. This faster navigation will improve productivity for sure.
Manon,
This post was very informative! I personally was tasked with writing specifically about SQL, and found it very helpful to read your post about the specifics regarding the actual database contents. I didn't realize there were so many different qualifications associated with one piece of data within a table and your post did a good job explaining that.
Manon,
You have a good point about filtering unwanted data out. Obviously, more data is better and creates a more accurate report/simulation/etc. but some data is irrelevant to a specific study. Being able to filter the data and have a clear focus with important data is just as important to have accurate results.
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