BTM 382 Database Management
Chapter 1: Database systems
Chitu Okoli
Associate Professor in Business Technology Management
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montréal
Structure of BTM 382 Database Management
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Week 1: Introduction and overview
 ch1: Introduction
Weeks 2-6: Database design
 ch3: Relational model
 ch4: ER modeling
 ch6: Normalization
 ERD modeling exercise
 ch5: Advanced data modeling
Week 7: Midterm exam
Weeks 8-10: Database programming
 ch7: Intro to SQL
 ch8: Advanced SQL
 SQL exercises
Weeks 11-13: Database management
 ch2,12: Data models
 ch13: Business intelligence and data warehousing
 ch9,14,15: Selected managerial topics
Review of
Chapter 1: Database systems
 Why do we need databases?
 What are the different kinds of database
management systems? That is, how could different
DBMSs be grouped or classified?
 What are the major aspects of database
management?
Why do we need databases?
Structural and Data
dependence and independence
 Structural dependence and independence
 Structural dependence: Access to a database file is dependent
on the precise database structure
 E.g. if you add a new field (attribute), you have to modify all
application programs that access the database
 Structural independence: File structure can be changed without
affecting applications’ ability to access the data
 Data dependence and independence
 Data dependence: Access to a database file is dependent on the
precise format of the data
 E.g. if you change the number of decimal places for a numeric field,
you have to modify all application programs that access that field
 Data independence: Data format characteristics can be changed
without affecting applications’ ability to access the data
Data redundancy
 Unnecessarily repeating the same data at
different places in the database
 Problems:
 Poor data security
 Data inconsistency
 Increased likelihood of data-entry errors when
complex entries are made in different files
 Data anomaly: when not all of the required changes
in the redundant data are made successfully
Database and DBMS
 A database is a shared, integrated computer structure
that stores a collection of:
 End-user data: Raw facts of interest to end users
 Metadata: Data about data, which is used to integrate and
manage the end-user data
 Describe data characteristics and relationships
 Database management system (DBMS)
 Collection of programs
 Manages the database structure
 Controls access to data stored in the database
The DBMS manages the interaction
between the end user and the database
Databases versus file systems
Types of databases
Types of databases:
Number of users
 Single-user database: Supports one user at a time
 Desktop database: Runs on PC
 Multiuser database: Supports multiple users at the
same time
 Workgroup databases: Supports a small number of
users or a specific department
 Enterprise database: Supports many users across many
departments
Types of databases:
Physical location
 Centralized database: Data is located at a single site
 Distributed database: Data is distributed across
different sites
 Cloud database: A type of distributed database where
the database developers never need to think about
where the database is physically located, because
someone else (the cloud service provider) takes care of
all of that
Types of databases:
Operations versus analysis
 Operational/transactional database:
Designed to support a company’s day-to-day
operations
 Analytical database: Stores historical data
and business metrics used exclusively for
tactical or strategic decision making
 Optimized for read-only operations; very slow for
updating
 Data warehouse: Stores data in a format
optimized for decision support
Types of databases (correction/clarification):
Information provision databases
 All the other kinds of database described are
fully functional databases where the users can
read, write and edit data
 Unlike the other kinds of database described,
General-purpose databases and disciplinespecific databases refer to prepopulated readonly databases provided for information
purposes by specific vendors
Database management
The database system environment
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Structure of BTM 382
Database Management
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
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Week 1: Introduction and overview
Weeks 2-6: Database design
Week 7: Midterm exam
Weeks 8-10: Database programming
Weeks 11-13: Database management
Conclusion
Summary of
Chapter 1: Database systems
 We need databases to efficiently organize data
without redundancies in a way independent from
application programs.
 DBMSs can be classified according to the number of
users, physical location, and operational versus
analytical purpose.
 Database management mainly consists of design,
programming and administration.
Sources
 Most of the slides are adapted from Database
Systems: Design, Implementation and
Management by Carlos Coronel and Steven Morris.
11th edition (2015) published by Cengage Learning.
ISBN 13: 978-1-285-19614-5
 Other sources are noted on the slides themselves
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