Database management is the system to manage information that is essential to the business operations of an organization. It involves storing data and distribution to users and applications and then modifying it if necessary and monitoring the changes in the data and preventing it from being damaged due to unexpected failures. It is part of the overall informational infrastructure of a company which supports decision-making and corporate growth as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act.
In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM among others came up with the first database systems. They evolved into the information management systems (IMS) which allowed for the storage and retrieve massive amounts of data for a wide range of purposes, ranging from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.
A database is a set of tables that store data according to a certain schema, such as one-to many relationships. It uses primary keys to identify records, and allow cross-references between tables. Each table is comprised of a set of fields, referred to as attributes, that represent facts about data entities. Relational models, created by E. F. “Ted” Codd in the 1970s at IBM as a database, are the most well-known database type in the present. The concept is based on normalizing data to make it more user-friendly. It also makes it easier to update data since it eliminates the need to change various databases.
The majority of DBMSs support a variety of databases by providing different internal and external levels of organization. The internal level addresses costs, scalability, and other operational issues such as the layout of the physical storage. The external level determines how the database is represented in user interfaces and other applications. It could comprise a combination of different external views (based on different data models) and can also include virtual tables that are created from data that is generic to enhance performance.