Databases

 Overview

Databases consist of a structured collection of records which can be manipulated to provide answers to specific questions. Each record represents a small piece of information which is stored in a database table. Cross-table queries then allow different but associated pieces of information to be examined and the result to be based upon the relationship between them. A good example of this would be a travel agent that due to the adventurous nature of their clients sells package holidays to every country in the world ( 194). Assume that they sold 9,000 holidays in the previous year and the manager wanted to know the total revenue raised for all travellers to Thailand for that period. Without a database the sales agent would have to trawl through all 9,000 holidays, identify those to Thailand and total up the revenue. For a database this would represent a simple query which could return the result in a matter of seconds (if that) not just for Thailand, but summarised by all destinations.

A database is an extremely powerful business tool, not just as a management reporting function but also as a means of streamlining operations and improving efficiency. Many tasks that traditionally took hours or even days can be executed in a matter of seconds and databases have now become an integral part of many businesses infrastructure.

Database Uses

The most common types of database are the transactional databases which are used to store and manipulate dynamic data, and whilst the information used may vary from one application to another the basic principles remain the same. Common uses include order processing, stock control, financial tracking and just about any application where the data is subject to regular change.

The other types of database are known as analytical databases which are used evaluate information and return statistical data to the user. Common uses are for scientific and geographic evaluation but there are some very powerful commercial applications that can be implemented. Retailers and banks can evaluate previous sales data to identify their most profitable and low risk customers, and then take steps to ensure that they retain them. Marketing departments use techniques such as "data mining" to identify popular products by demographic group, and then push similar products to that group or those products to similar groups. Data mining has even been used to identify a target audience and then determine the best time of day for TV advertising.

Designing Databases

There are many formats available for the design of databases and each uses it‘s own table manipulation and scripting language to store, modify, delete and query records. Some of the most common formats used for the design of databases are Jet, SQL and Oracle with many applications available to develop user interfaces. At Design Atom we have experience of programming many databases and tend to concentrate on these formats because of their availability, popularity, reliability and support.