Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 5.4
Member No.
Name
Phone
Gender
Fitness Center Members
SN123
Brown, A.
468-3342
Female
SN656
Thomas, S.
468-5238
Male
Table 5.5
Member No.
Dues Paid
Date Paid
Dues Paid
SN123
$30
September 15
SN656
$15
September 15
SN656
$15
September 25
The relations in Table 5.4 and Table 5.5 reduce the redundancy and eliminate the po-
tential problem of having two different phone numbers for the same member. Also note that
the member number gives each record in the Fitness Center Members table a primary key.
Because the Dues Paid table lists two payment entries ($15 each) with the same member
number (SN656), one person clearly made the payments, not two different people. Formal-
ized approaches, such as
database normalization
, are often used to clean up problems with
data.
Creating and implementing the right database system ensures that the database will support
both business activities and goals. But how do we actually create, implement, use, and update
a database? The answer is found in the database management system. As discussed earlier, a
DBMS is a group of programs used as an interface between a database and application pro-
grams or a database and the user. The capabilities and types of database systems, however,
vary considerably. For example, visitors to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New
are used to manage all kinds of data for all kinds of purposes.
Overview of Database Types
Database management systems can range from small, inexpensive software packages to so-
phisticated systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The following sections discuss
a few popular alternatives. See Figure 5.9 for one example.
Flat File
A flat file is a simple database program whose records have no relationship to one another.
Flat file databases are often used to store and manipulate a single table or file, and do not use
any of the database models discussed previously, such as the relational model. Many spread-
sheet and word processing programs have flat file capabilities. These software packages can
sort tables and make simple calculations and comparisons. Microsoft OneNote is designed
to let people put ideas, thoughts, and notes into a computer file. In OneNote, each note can
be placed anywhere on a page or in a box on a page, called a
container
. Pages are organized
into sections and subsections that appear as colored tabs. After you enter a note, you can
retrieve, copy, and paste it into other applications, such as word processing and spreadsheet
programs. Microsoft uses OneNote as the primary technology for its management training
classes. OneNote allows managers-in-training to collect photos, handwritten notes, online
to a larger number of managers, while saving $360,000 per year in printed training materials.
