The use of Database system in the IT society

    As we go deeper into the Information Age, we are beginning to realize that information is fast becoming a very valuable commodity that is bought and sold like other precious resources such as oil, and gold. In fact, experts are predicting that information will become one of the most important resources in the next millennium. If the Industrial Age was fuelled by natural resources, the resource that will fuel the Information Age will be information.

     Information is the end result of processing huge quantities of data -  the building blocks of information. To harness the power of information, one must have access to data from which they are based on. But before data can be used to produce information, it must first be stored and maintained in large quantities in repositories known as databases. Database and related systems allow for the retrieval, storage, and processing to information of data when and where it needed.

     Learning how databases and related system work is the first step in harnessing the power of information. The skills and knowledge that you will acquire from this undertaking will make you not just an end- user of information, but one who is capable of creating information. 

What is Database System?

     A database system is an system for maintaining records. It provides users with several facilities to perform a variety of operations such as:

• add new information
• delete existing information
• update existing information

    In addition, it is also used to maintain and retrieve information whenever it is needed. Moreover, database systems are typically used to manage huge quantities of data like a country's voters' list. Data management includes defining the storage structure of the information and means that will enable the users to manipulate the stored information.

     In general, a database system is nothing more than a collection of related data. By this definition, the names, address, and telephone numbers of friends that a student keeps in an address book can be considered as a database. Another example of a database system under this definition is the card catalog system which contains information about the books and other resource materials in a library.

    Database system can vary in terms of size and complexity. The information stored in an address book is relatively small and simple. On the other hand, the subscribers listed in the telephone directory is greater in size but is still simple in terms of structure because the names of subscribers are simple arranged alphabetically; it can also be arranged according to regions, provinces, and municipality.

    The collection of information stored in a database system at a given point in time is called an instance of the database. The over- all design of a database system is called the database scheme or schema.

     Typically, the previous examples are manually created and maintained. On the other hand, there are database system examples which can also be created and maintained by using a machine- a computer to be specific. Here are some examples: first, a small library can store information about its collection in a desktop computer. Second, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) can make use of an entire computerized system to create and maintain  the voter's list.

      A database can be thought of as an integrated system designed primarily to minimizes, if not eliminate the repetition of data. The  files of a database system are part of an  over all software package. The software package creates, manages, and accesses the different files in a database system. It also contains a pool of structured data that can be shared by multiple users. Users are provided with data models to define the logical structure of data and data languages to define and manipulate the data according to the logical structure of the data model.