Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Databases
Sometimes in the storage and retrieval of information, we would like to identify
only certain items. For example, suppose you maintain an address book, and in it
you store names, addresses, telephone numbers, and birthdays. At any time, you
may want to retrieve the names of those people who have birthdays in a given
month or those that live in a specific state. To do so, you need to set up your in
formation in an organized way and have the computer search through the infor
mation for specific items, based on your criteria. It is not surprising that various
companies have written software packages to perform such storage and selective
retrieval. These computer programs are called
databases
, and many computers
arrive from the manufacturer with a database program as part of their general
software. Some common applications for databases include the following:
Keeping addresses of friends, colleagues, or business contacts
Storing recipes—perhaps with information about the type of cuisine or the in
gredients used
Maintaining an inventory of your CDs and/or tapes—perhaps with information
about the songs on each CD and about artists
Keeping an appointment book, with your schedule for each day
Storing lists of your insurance policies, credit cards, shopping needs, favorite
Web sites, or other personal items
Multimedia Applications
Whereas databases typically focus on text, another type of application involving
storage and retrieval keeps track of shapes, geometrical objects, colors, patterns,
or sounds. For example, we may use a computer to plan the layout of cabinets
in a new kitchen, help design a new piece of furniture, maintain the pictures
from our recent trip, or organize the karaoke tapes we made at a nightclub.
Although this list clearly could be extended at length, the point here is that the
storage and retrieval of information need not be limited to text; both visual and
aural data may be saved as well.
For the most part, storage and retrieval applications involve rather limited com
putation or communication. Rather, they use the computer as an extensive multi
media filing system.
