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Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Organizing Data and
Information
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Principles
• Data management and modelling  key aspects of organising
data and information.

• Databases need to be well-designed and well-managed, it is

central to almost all information systems and is an extremely
valuable tool in supporting decision making.

• The number and type of database applications will continue to

evolve and yield real business benefits.
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Database
• The centre of almost every information system

• The most common database is the relational

database

• A relational database is a series of related tables,

stored together with a minimum of duplication
to achieve consistent and controlled pool of data.
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Advantages of using databases

• Improved strategic use of corporate data
• Reduced data redundancy
• Improved data integrity
• Easier modification and updating
• Data and program independence
• Better access to information
• Standardisation of data access
• Framework for program development
• Better overall protection of data
• Shared data and information resources
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Disadvantages of using databases

• More complexity (Development)

• Difficulty to recover from a failure
• More expensive
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Relational Database
• A relational database is made up of a number of tables
In loose terms, each table stores the data about someone
or something of interest to the firm, known as an entity.
Customer is an example

• A table is made up of a number of records

A record collects all the data about one instance of a
specific entity,
for example: the customer Thabo Mbele

• Each record is made up of a number of fields (attributes)

The fields / attributes are the specific items of data stored
about an entity (name, data of birth, address, etc.)
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Keys

• Each record must be unique in some way

• The primary key is a field that is defined to be unique for each

entity

• Student Number, ID number/passport number are all primary

keys that uniquely identify you

• Primary keys are used to join tables:

‘Post’ a primary key into another table to join the two (see
Figure 3.1 and 3.2)
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Database Design
• A database design is also known as a data model or a database
schema

• It is a list of all the tables in the database, along with all the fields,
with any primary and foreign keys identified

• One approach to database has 4 stages:

1. Identify all entities
2. Identify all relationships between entities
3. Identify all attributes
4. Resolve all relationships
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Database Design (continued)

• The first three stages are performed by, for example, interviewing
staff (managers and users), observing staff at work and reviewing
existing documentation

• Relationships between entities are governed by enterprise (or

‘business’) rules

• Resolving a relationship means deciding how to implement it –

which primary key will be used as a foreign key, or whether to use
a linking table (see Figure 3.5)
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Resolving relationships
• Crow’s foot notation

• 3 Types of binary relationships:

 One to one (compulsory both sides)
(Optional one side)
(Optional both sides)
 One to many (Compulsory and optional)
 Many to many (Compulsory and optional)
(Note examples done on board)
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Creating and modifying the database

• Data definition language (DDL): collection of

instructions and commands used to define and
describe data and relationships in a specific
database
– Allows the database’s creator to describe the data and
relationships that are to be contained in the schema
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SQL to define a table
CREATE DATABASE Lettings;

USE Lettings;

CREATE TABLE landlords(

Firstname CHAR(10),
Surname CHAR(10),
Telephone CHAR(10));

INSERT INTO landlords(

‘John’, ‘Smith’, ‘123456’);
Figure 5.7 SQL as a DDL
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Data dictionary
• Stores meta data, a detailed description of all the
data used in the database, to achieve the
following:
– Reduced data redundancy
– Increased data reliability
– Assists program development
– Easier modification of data and information
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SQL to manipulate data
• The commands that are used to manipulate the database are a data
manipulation language (DML)

SELECT * FROM EMPLOYEE

WHERE JOB_CLASSIFICATION = “C2”.

• This will output all employees who have a job classification of

‘C2’
• The * tells the DBMS to include all columns from the
EMPLOYEE table in the results
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Database Output
• After a database has been set up and loaded with data, it can produce any
desired reports, documents
• These outputs usually appear in screen displays or hard-copy printouts
• The output-control features of a database program allow you to select the
records and fields to appear in reports
• You can also make calculations specifically for the report by manipulating
database fields
• Formatting controls and organisation options (such as report headings) help
you to customise reports and create flexible, convenient, and powerful
information-handling tools
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Database Management System (DBMS)

• Creating and implementing the right database
system ensures that the database will support both
business activities and goals

• DBMS: a group of programs used as an interface

between a database and application programs or a
database and the user
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Selecting a DBMS
• Important characteristics of databases to consider:
– Database size
– Database cost
– Concurrent users
– Performance
– Integration
– Vendor
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Database Administration
• Role of the database administrator (DBA) is to plan, design,
create, operate, secure, monitor and maintain databases

• The DBA works with both users and programmers

• A data administrator is responsible for defining and implementing

consistent principles for a variety of data issues, including setting
data standards and data definitions; a nontechnical position
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Linking Databases to the Internet

• Linking databases to the Internet is important for

many organizations and people

• Semantic Web
– Developing a seamless integration of traditional databases with
the Internet
– Allows people to access and manipulate a number of traditional
databases at the same time through the Internet
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Data Warehouses & Data Mining

• Data warehouse: database that collects business

information from many sources in the enterprise,
covering all aspects of the company’s processes,
products and customers
• Data mining: information-analysis tool that
involves the automated discovery of patterns and
relationships in a data warehouse
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Data mining
• Data mining is the process of analysing data to try to discover patterns
and relationships within the data
• Typically, a data warehouse is mined
• Like gold mining, data mining sifts through mountains of data to find a
few nuggets of valuable information
• There are a number of data mining tools and techniques
• Association rules algorithms are used to find associations between items
in the data. For example, if someone buys eggs, how likely is it that they
will also buy cheese?
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Data mining (continued)
• Data mining is used extensively in marketing to
improve customer retention; identify cross-selling
opportunities; manage marketing campaigns; market,
channel and pricing analysis; and customer
segmentation analysis (especially one-to-one
marketing)

• Data-mining tools help users find answers to

questions they haven’t thought to ask
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Business Intelligence
• Business intelligence (BI): process of gathering
enough of the right information in a timely
manner and usable form and analyzing it to have
a positive impact on business strategy, tactics, or
operations

• Turns data into useful information that is then

distributed throughout an enterprise
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Distributed databases
• Distributed database
– Database in which the data may be spread across
several smaller databases connected via
telecommunications devices
– Gives corporations more flexibility in how databases
are organized and used
• Replicated database
– Database that holds a duplicate set of frequently used
data
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Visual, Audio, and Other Database Systems
• Databases for storing images
• Databases for storing sound
• Virtual database systems: allow different
databases to work together as a unified database
system
• Other special-purpose database systems
– Spatial data technology: stores and accesses data according to
the locations it describes and permits spatial queries and
analysis
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Object-Oriented and Object-Relational DBMS

• Object-oriented database: database that stores both data and its

processing instructions
– Method: procedure or action
– Message: request to execute or run a method

• Object-oriented database management system (OODBMS):

group of programs that manipulate an object-oriented database and
provide a user interface and connections to other application
programs

• Object-relational database management system (ORDBMS):

DBMS capable of manipulating audio, video, and graphical data
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Summary
• Relational Database: a collection of tables used to store
data
• Primary Key: a field or set of fields in a record that is
used to identify the record
• Database approach to data management: a pool of
related data is shared by multiple application programs
• Database design: list of tables with primary and
foreign keys identified
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Summary (continued)
• Database management system (DBMS): group of
programs used as an interface between a database
and application programs or a database and the
user
• Role of the database administrator (DBA): plan,
design, create, operate, secure, monitor and
maintain databases
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Summary (continued)
• Data warehouse: database that collects business information from
all aspects of a company’s processes, products, and customers
• Data mining: information-analysis tool for the automated
discovery of patterns and relationships in a data warehouse
• Object-oriented database: database that stores both data and its
processing instructions