File organization concept

Database and Information System

File Organization Concept

Data is arranged by a computer system in a hierarchy that moves from bit to byte, field, record, file, and database.

• A byte is a collection of bits that represents a character.
• An entity's specific attribute is described by a group of characters that make up a field, which is a type of data element. In other terms, a field is a place where specific kinds of data are kept.

For example

An employee record may have fields for storing last names, first names, addresses, and other information. The maximum length and type of data that can be entered into a field define that field.

• Records can be created by grouping together related fields of data. Consequently, a record is a group of properties that characterize an entity.
• A collection of entries in a database, each with a field and a set of operations for searching, sorting, and other tasks. It is, in other words, a cohesive grouping of logically connected data pieces.

Problems with Traditional File Environment

In conventional file processing, various departments are responsible for maintaining the files. The following is a list of typical issues that can arise in a traditional file environment:

• Data Redundancy (Duplication)
  • Redundant data is information that is present in numerous files in duplicate. Due to the repetition of the same data across several files in traditional file processing, files complicate the available space.
• Data Consistency Problem
  • Consistency issues arise when we update the data in one file but do not update the other files.
• Limited Query Facility
  • The set of instructions to identify a file is referred to as a query facility. And the file system just has the basic guidance needed to locate the necessary files.
• Limited Security Level
  • Only the file level of security is available. It doesn't offer record, field, or data level security.
• Program Data Dependence
  • In order to create files and data, various programs are employed. Data are therefore software dependant.
• Lack of Flexibility
• Poor Security
• Lack of Data Sharing and Availability

Database Approach to Data Management

• Database
  • A database is a collection of data that has been centralized and redundant data is controlled to efficiently serve various applications. Many of the issues with conventional file organizing are resolved by database technology. In a database strategy, one database serves numerous applications; instead of keeping data in a different file for each application, data is saved so that it appears to the user that it is stored in just one place.
• DBMS
  • It is software that is used to centralize data, manage data effectively, and give application programs access to the stored data. It serves as an interface between physical data files and application programs. The logical and physical views of data are separated by DBMS, making it simple for programmers and end users to understand where and how the data are actually kept. While the physical view demonstrates how data are actually stored and organised on a physical storage medium, the logical view exposes data as it would be interpreted by the end user. The traditional file environment's issues with redundancy control, consistency elimination, program and data decoupling, centralized data management for companies, and security are all resolved by DBMS.

Advantages of Database Approach to Data Management

• By reducing the number of separate files where the same data is duplicated, DBMS reduces data redundancy and consistency.
• DBMS separates the program from the data, allowing the data to stand alone. Program-data dependence is thus a resolved issue.
• Security in a DBMS can be applied at the database, file, record, and even field level. Consequently, database processing has increased security. The management of data is centralized in a database method.

Capabilities of DBMS

A DBMS consists of features and resources for managing, organizing, and gaining access to database data. The following is a list of the most significant DBMS capabilities:

• Data Definition
  • DBMS have the ability to define data definitions that specify the structure of the database context. It is used to build database tables and describe the properties of each table's field.
• Data Dictionary
  • A data dictionary is a human or automated file that contains a definition of each data element and its properties.
• Data Manipulation
  • To add, modify, and retrieve data from the database, most DBMS have a specific language called a data manipulation language. The most used language for data manipulation is structured query language. DML is mostly used for reporting and querying.

Database Design

• No duplication, connections between corporate processes, and accessibility from both a logical and physical perspective
• To build a database, we must comprehend the connections between the data, the types of data, the intended uses for the data, and the organizational requirements for managing and changing the data.
• The database needs to be designed physically as well as conceptually.
• A good database designer will take the following actions:
  • Needs evaluation.
  • User research.
  • Data evaluation.
  • Identify the field.
  • Original table layout.
• To meet corporate information requirements, the design process should determine the relationships between data elements and the best approach to arrange them together.
• In the database design process, duplicate data elements and data element grouping that are needed for a particular application program should also be identified.
• To reduce unnecessary data elements and many-to-many relationships, the complicated arrangement of data must be reduced while constructing databases.
• To ensure that the relationship between tables remains consistent, a database designer should always endeavor to impose referential integrity constraints.
• Entity-relationship diagrams, which show the relationships among various entities and how one entity relates to other entities, should be used by database designers to document their data models.

The data model must be accurate since a flawed data model will prevent the system from effectively serving the business.

DBMS Vs File System

Reference

Laudon, Laudon, "Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm", twelfth edition