A database is a collection of data or information. Database Management System (DBMS) is a program that manages data in a database.
A database could be as simple as a phone book or stock tables, or as sophisticated as a biological repository with terabytes (TB) of data. Keeping abreast with the technology trends the complexity and the effectiveness of the data management systems grew exponentially and lead to the development of advanced techniques.
These included die relational database model wherein relations between different pieces of data were employed to ensure fast storage and retrieval of data along with the ability to handle complex data storage.
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This was followed by the development of object-oriented databases which view pieces or group of data as objects that could be directly manipulated. Generally a database system involves four major components.
1. Data
2. Hardware
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3. Software
4. Users
DBMS are employed by any reasonably self-contained commercial, scientific, technical or other organization (from a single individual to a large company) and may be used for many reasons. In recent years, the relational database has generally become the defect standard for database storage.
This is due to the usability of the relational model itself, and because it provides a standard interface called Structured Query Language (SQL) that allows many different database tools and products to work together in a consistent and understandable way.
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Additionally, a relational database typically provides mechanisms for handling integrity, data validation kind a host of administrative processes to set up and maintain an application’s data.