Database management is the method for managing information that supports the organization’s business processes. It involves storing data and distribution to application programs and users making changes as needed and monitoring the changes in the data and preventing the data from becoming corrupted by unexpected failures. It is a part of the overall informational infrastructure of a business that aids in decision-making as well as corporate growth and compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were created in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) that enabled the storage and retrieve large amounts of information for a range of uses, from calculating inventory to supporting complex financial accounting and human resources functions.
A database is tables that organize data in accordance with a specific scheme, such as one-to-many relationships. It uses primary keys to identify records and allow cross-references between tables. Each table has a set of fields, referred to as attributes, that represent facts about the entities that comprise the data. Relational models, which were developed by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at IBM and IBM, are among the most widely used type of database currently. The concept is based on normalizing data to make it simpler to use. It is also simpler to update data since it doesn’t require changing various databases.
Most DBMSs can support multiple types of databases through different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level deals with cost, scalability, as well as other operational issues, including the physical layout of the database. The external level is the representation of the database in user interfaces and applications. It could include a mix of external views based on different data models. It could include virtual tables that are computed using generic data to improve the performance.