Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Chapter
Relational Database
Concepts
In This Chapter
How spreadsheets compare with
databases
◆
Relational database concepts
◆
Data modeling concepts
◆
Object-relational database concepts
◆
Every organization has data that needs to be collected, managed, and
analyzed. A relational database fulfills these needs. Along with the pow-
erful features of a relational database come requirements for developing
and maintaining the database. Data analysts, database designers, and
database administrators (DBAs) need to be able to translate the data in
a database into useful information for both day-to-day operations and
long-term planning.
Relational databases can be a bit intimidating at first, even if you're a
specialist in some other informational technology area, such as network-
ing, web development, or programming. This chapter will give you a good
overview of current relational and object-relational database concepts. It
begins by comparing a database with another tool that most everyone has
used—a spreadsheet (also known as the “poor man's” database). Then
you'll learn about the basic components of a relational database, the data
modeling process, and object-relational database features.
