Data, Information, and Databases
BDIS 6.1
BSAD 141Dave Novak
Topics Covered Information types: transactional –vs-
analytical Five characteristics of information quality Database versus a DBMS RDBMS: advantages and terminology Multi-user issues
The Need for High-Quality Information Data are everywhere
Which data are important?
Which data should the organization store?
Which data need to be further manipulated?
Which data are required to make different types of decisions?
How does the organization convert various data into information that is needed?
The Need for High-Quality Information Recall difference between data and
information from Lecture #1
The Need for High-Quality Information The need to obtain and analyze the many
different levels, formats, and granularities of organizational information to make decisions
The Need for High-Quality Information CRITICAL TO REMEMBER!
Decisions are only as good as the quality of the data and information that are used to make the decisions…
Crap in Crap out• Using technology to help you make a
decision using poor quality data doesn’t help
Data Quality ProblemsExample of Low Quality Data
Characteristics of High Quality Information 1) Accurate 2) Complete 3) Consistent 4) Unique 5) Timely
1) Accurate
Are the data (is the information) correct, precise, and exact?
For example:Are the data factual?Are values error-free?Have data been verified?
• Correct spelling• Precise numbers
2) Complete
Are the data whole (complete) and do they have all the necessary parts?
For exampleAre there missing values or pieces of
data?• Full street address• Area code along with phone number• Empty fields• Full Names
3) Consistent Are the data are in agreement with
themselves and with known facts? For example
Does summary information agree with detailed information? Can you reconcile the data? • Do mathematical manipulations yield correct
results?• Are data manipulations performed
consistently for the entire data set?
4) Unique Are the data unique (one of a kind) or are
there redundant, repetitious or unnecessary data stored in the same database?For example:
• Are there duplicate records for the same “event”?
• Are there different versions of “the same” file or event (which is the latest or most accurate?)
5) Timely Are the data current with respect to
decision-making needs? Timeliness depends on the situation
Real-time information – Immediate, up-to-date information
Real-time system – Provides real-time information in response to requests
“Real-time” is a relative description that depends on the use or need
How can data be of “poor” quality? Customers intentionally enter
inaccurate information to protect their privacy or because they are irritated
Different data entry standards and formats
Operators enter abbreviated or erroneous information by accident or to save time
Third party and external information contains inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and errors
What is a Database? Database – a collection of information
organized in a way that provides efficient retrieval
There are electronic and physical databases (paper/print)A database can be a very simple
collection of data such as alphabetically arranging names in an address book
What is a Database Management System (DBMS)?
Database management systems (DBMS) – A set of computer programs / software that allow users to store, modify, query, and retrieve data in a systematic and controlled manner
Database Management System (DBMS)
A database (the physical collection of data) is typically not portable across different DBMSLike application software, different DBMS are
generally designed to work with specific system software and specific database schema
A database is typically something inside the DBMS, although in the case of a MS Excel workbook the database is a standalone object
Database Management System (DBMS)
A very popular and common DBMS is the relational DBMS (RDBMS)
A standard program and user interface is the Structure Query Language (SQL)A programming language used to create,
modify, and retrieve information from a database
Different databases use different (proprietary) variations to standard SQL
Database Management System (DBMS)
According to the following source (which I did not verify with the Gartner report) the top five commercial RDBMS vendors in 2011 were:
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/eye-on-oracle/oracle-the-clear-leader-in-24-billion-rdbms-market/
Oracle (≈ 50% market share)IBM (≈ 20% market share)Microsoft (≈ 17% market share)SAPTeradata
Database Management System (DBMS)
Oracle: Oracle Database and MySQL IBM: DB2 and Informix Microsoft: SQL Server SAP: Sybase Enterprise and Sybase IQ Teradata
Single File Data Management MS Excel is a database, but it is not a
DBMS! Each worksheet is a single large two-
dimensional matrix A database is simply an organized
collection of data that can be accessed A DBMS is software that is used to
manage the database and provides a set of tools used to manipulate and query data
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) Data are organized as a set of formal tables Data can be accessed and combined in
different ways without reorganizing the data within the tables• Data can be manipulated in different ways and
combined with data in other tables without altering the original data in the table
RDBMS can be easily extended / scaled – new data and new categories of data can be added without changing existing data
RDBMS Terminology Data model – A picture of logical data
structures that detail the relationships among data elements
Metadata – Formal description of data structures (like tables and fields) and any constraints of the table or values within the tableData about the containers of data
RDBMS Terminology Data dictionary – Compiles all of the
metadata about the elements in the data model
Entity Sets (Tables) Relational table or entity set –
Each table consists of columns (fields/attributes) and rows (records/entities)
The table has a name that describes the group of related entities within the tableFor example, a table labeled
“Student” would contain a group of student entities
Entity / Record / Row A person, place, thing,
transaction, or event about which data are being collected and storedThe individual rows in a table
contain entitiesEach row is also referred to as
a record Example?
Attributes / Field / Column The data elements that describe the
characteristics of a specific entityThe columns in each table contain the
attributes Example?
What is a Relationship? 1) When designing a relational DB,
data need to be separated into tables that contain related data elementsFor example we would not store data
related to customer (name, address, phone, etc.) and data related to the customer’s particular order (orderID, date, shipping method, etc.) in the same table
What is a Relationship? All information specific to a customer
would go into a “Customer” table All information specific to the specific
orders would go into an “Order” table
We would then create a relationship between the tables to match a particular customer with a particular order
What is a Relationship? A relationship in an RDB is an
association between the entities within the different tablesThere are THREE (3) types of
relationships:• One-to-One (1:1)• One-to-Many (1:M)• Many-to-Many (M:M)
Creating Relationships Through Keys KEYS are used to create
relationships between the entities in different tables in the RDBPrimary key
Foreign key
Creating Relationships Through Keys For our purposes:
Every table in a RDB MUST have a primary key
The foreign key is not required in every table and will only appear on the “many” side of the relationship
Advantages of RDBMs RDBMS advantages from a
business perspective include1) Flexibility2) Scalability and performance3) Improved information integrity
(quality)• Reduced information redundancy
4) Information security
1) Flexibility Handle changes quickly and easily Provide users with different views of
the dataArranging data items in different
ways depending on the user needShowing a particular user only some
of the available fields while not showing them other fields
1) Flexibility: Schema
Different database schema can be “owned” by or associated with different users
The schema is a user personalized set of tables, views, and indexes
2) Scalability and Performance A DBMS must expand to meet
increased demand, while maintaining acceptable performance levelsScalability – Refers to how well a
system can adapt to increased demands
Performance – Measures how quickly a system performs a certain process or transaction
3) Information Integrity Information integrity – a measure of
information quality Know that data have not been entered
incorrectly or altered in an unauthorized manner
Integrity constraint – rules that help ensure the quality of informationWe will discuss entity integrity and
referential integrity (there is also domain integrity)
3) Information Integrity: Controlling Redundancy
Redundant data are ok if they serve a specific purpose such as being used as backup directly linked to the sourceBackup systems promote fault tolerance,
Unintentional redundancy is not good Wasted storageDifficult to modifyPossible inconsistencies
4) Information Security
Information is an organizational asset and must be protected
RDBMS offer several security features Access level – Determines the level of
access each individual user has • Who can access the DBMS
Access control – Determines the types of things each group can do• Types of access, such as power to create,
modify, delete, and/or read• Which types of SQL statements can be
executed
Multiuser Issues
DBMS serve many different users with different needs
Many users may require concurrent access to the same data
Must preserve integrity of data and the performance of the system
Multiuser Issues
Problem: if multiple users (say tens or even hundreds of users) access the same data concurrently, how does the DBMS allow one user to change data without being overwritten by another user? This is typically referred to as the Lost-update problem
Multiuser Issues Concurrent transactions are addressed
through the use of transactions and locksTransactions – single indivisible action
that affects some data Once a transaction is committed, it is
permanent and changes are visible to all users
If transaction is not committed, changes are “rolled back” or reversed
Multiuser IssuesLocks – literally “locks” the data so that
changes cannot be made on the data while another transaction is in process
Enterprise DBMS
Learning Outcomes Five characteristics of quality information Define database, DBMS, RDBMS, and
supporting components and terminology Advantages of RDBMS What is SQL? Describe the lost-update problem and how it
is addressed