If you want a simple and sweet introduction to databases and database management systems, then you are at the right place, because after reading this blog post you will be fully equipped with a basic understanding of databases and systems to manage the databases. So let’s just jump straight into the content.

What is database system ?

In simple words, a database system is just a combination of 2 things ( a database and a system, like [Database Management system] to manage it ). Now since the database is part of a database system so now let’s understand what is database and what are the various systems to manage the database.

What is a database ?

A database is an organized collection of related data which is mostly stored electronically on our computer devices, but it can also be stored in hardware devices that we can share with other individuals.

Now the thing to consider is why the words ( related data ) are being highlighted in the definition of database? , So let us try to understand the reason behind it with an example : Let us suppose that you and your friend want to apply for your driving license as now you both are 19 years old , so for this purpose you apply online for the driving test by filling some of your details and submitting documents like ( Your birth certificate , passport size photo and other id proofs ) . Now after filling all the details and submitting all the required documents you got a driving test date on which you have to drive your vehicle and prove to them you are eligible for a license.

Now at the initial phase whole of your, your friend’s and other individuals data will be stored in the temporary database , and now let us assume that you failed your driving test, so in that case the final database which the driving license department will send to higher authority to issue the driving license will not contain your data, because now you don’t come under the related data , thus database is organized collection of related data.

What are the types of database ?

There are basically 2 different types of databases :

1. Structured database: In this type of database the data is stored in a particular structure, and in order to build that particular structure we mostly use the relation model , according to which the data is stored in form of tables ( having rows and columns )
2. Unstructured database: In this database as the name suggests the data is not stored in any particular structure, which means that we don’t use any model such as (relation model ) which we used in case of a structured database.

The best example of unstructured database would be a website , because on website there are multiple types of data such as ( images , videos , text and links ) , since all this data is of different type thus there is not particular model to structure this type of data in the database.

What is a relational database?

Relational database is that database in which relational model is being used to structure or organize the data and according to relational model the data is stored in form of tables ( aka relation ) having rows and columns . In addition to it relational database tables are related to other tables .

What is Database Management System ?

Database management system is a software that creates an interface between the end user ( client ) and data stored in the hierarchical form in the database. In addition to using the interface the user can easily manage the data stored in the database by doing the CRUD operations such as ( Creation of new data , retrieval of data , updation of data and deletion of data ) . Example : MSAccess.

What is a relational database management system and how is it different from DBMS ?

First of all let us talk about the Relational Database management system after that we will discuss how is it different from DBMS .

RDBMS which is a short form of the relational database management system is an advanced version of DBMS as it uses a specific relational model in order to store and organize the data in the database . And according to relational model the data is stored in form of tables ( also known as relation having rows and columns ) . Example : ( MySQL , IBM DB2 and Oracle etc ).

So the way RDBMS is different from DBMS is that RDBMS organize data in tabular form but DBMS organize the data in hierarchical form . Apart from it there are also more differences which are presented in the table below 🔽

Before DBMS which system we used and why we are no longer using that system ?

Before the use of database management system we used file system which provided the interface between the end user and data stored in form of files in the computer . Using file management system just like the database management system we can do CRUD operations ( Create , read , update and delete ).

Reason behind why we started using Database management system

Basically from 1980’s onwards we started using a client server architecture in which the data was not only stored locally in our computer system , instead the data got started getting stored in some server and from that server multiple users started accessing the data.

Now because of the change in the overall archtecture the file mangement system was not efficient because of the following reason

1. Retrieval of data : The retrieval of data was not efficient in file system , because in order to access a small data of let’s say 1kb we need to first import the complete file or folder in which that data was stored , thus the retrieval of data took a lot of time and computer resources .
2. Attributes for searching : Connected to the first point the searching or retrieval of data was very much complicated and difficult because in order to access some particular file in a folder we need the meta data of that file and by meta data I mean we needed the complete path of that particular file .
3. Security : The file system was not secure because in file system there was no role-based ( hierarchical security ) and the reason behind it was that the file system was and till date is being controlled by the operating system and in operating system there is no role based security , thus if anyone once unlocked the computer system , he/she was able to access any data stored in that computer system , but in database management system there was role based security due to which people were able to actually decide how much data will be visible to other particular users based on hierarchy . Example : University database
4. Redundancy : In the file system the data could be redundant which means that we could easily store same data multiple times in the same file , but in database management system there are some constrains which ensure the data is not redundant