Database management is a system for managing data that supports the organization’s business processes. It involves storing data, distributing it to applications and users and editing it as required as well as monitoring changes in data and making sure that data integrity is not compromised due to unexpected failure. It is a part of a company’s overall informational infrastructure that aids in decision-making and growth for the business as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The first database systems were developed in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) that made it possible to store and retrieve large amounts of data for a variety of uses, from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a collection of tables that arrange data according to mironenko.space a certain scheme, like one-to-many relationships. It makes use of primary keys to identify records and permit cross-references between tables. Each table contains a number of fields, referred to as attributes, which provide information about the entities that comprise the data. The most well-known type of database currently is a relational model designed by E. F. “Ted” Codd at IBM in the 1970s. This design is based on normalizing the data, making it easier to use. It is also simpler to update data since it doesn’t require the modification of various databases.
The majority of DBMSs are able to support various types of databases, by providing different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level is concerned with cost, scalability, and other operational issues, like the physical layout of the database. The external level is how the database appears in user interfaces and other applications. It can include a combination of different external views (based on the different data models) and can also include virtual tables which are generated using generic data to improve performance.