Week 11: DBMS and its advantages

Database management system

A database management system (DBMS) is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators (DBAs) and other specialists. A database is an integrated collection of data records, files, and other objects. A DBMS allows different user application programs to concurrently access the same database. DBMSs may use a variety of database models, such as the relational model or object model, to conveniently describe and support applications. It typically supports query languages, which are in fact high-level programming languages, dedicated database languages that considerably simplify writing database application programs. Database languages also simplify the database organization as well as retrieving and presenting information from it. A DBMS provides facilities for controlling data access, enforcing data integrity, managing concurrency control, and recovering the database after failures and restoring it from backup files, as well as maintaining database security.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_management_system

ADVANTAGES OF DBMS

The DBMS (Database Management System) is preferred ever the conventional file processing system due to the following advantages:

1.Controlling Data Redundance

Avoid duplication of same data in different files and wastage of storage space. Reduce the time to keep the same data.

2. Elimination of Inconsistency

Remove the duplication of data in multiple file to eliminate inconsistency.

3. Better service to the users

Centralizing the data in the database so that user can obtain new and combined information easily .

4. Flexibility of the System is Improved

Changes are made more easily in a centralized database

5. Integrity can be improved

DBMS used by a number of users at a time. It is essential to enforce integrity-constraints.

6. Standards can be enforced

Standardizing stored data formats is usually desirable for the purpose of data inter¬change or migration between systems.

7. Security can be improved

Different checks can be established for each type of access (retrieve, modify, delete etc.) to each piece of information in the database.

8. Organization's requirement can be identified

It is the responsibility of the DBA (Database Administrator) to structure the database system to provide the overall service that is best for an organization.

9. Overall cost of developing and maintaining systems is lower

It is much easier to re¬spond to unanticipated requests when data is centralized in a database . The cost of  developing and maintaining DBMS application programs to be far lower than for similar service using conventional systems.

10. Data Model must be developed

Perhaps the most important advantage of setting up of database system is the requirement that an overall data model for an organization be build.

11. Provides backup and Recovery

Centralizing a database provides the schemes such as recovery and backups from the failures including disk crash, power failures, software errors which may help the database to recover from the inconsistent state.

Reference:

http://dbmsbasics.blogspot.com/2008/05/advantages-of-dbms.html