IT
Database management
Database – a collection of interrelated data. In practice, these applications do the same basic tasks,
but they may do them in different ways with different levels of complexity. Ex social media, iCloud.
Database Management System – is a collection of programs that enables us to create and maintain a
Database. It is general-purpose software system that facilitates the process of defining, constructing and
manipulating database for various applications. A database system consists of the combination of a DBMS
and a database.
DBMS software enables you to:
The advantages of a DBMS are listed below:
• create databases
• add new data to databases • Data sharing
• delete information from databases • Data Independence
• retrieve data from databases • Better data integrity
• make data available to users • Controlled Redundancy
• Data consistency
Singe user database/desktop database
For small databases accessed by a single user on one computer, ex. Microsoft Access suffices. It
runs locally, dedicating all resources to one user at a time. Ex. Personal cloud storage
Distributed database
For larger databases accessed by multiple users from various locations. It runs on a dedicated server,
facilitating access for multiple users simultaneously. It can be stored locally or in the cloud, with
resources shared among connected users. Ex. IT-classroom or workspace
Database careers
Database Administrator:
Primarily responsible for managing company or program data. Duties include database design, user
access provision, security implementation, backup setup, policy enforcement, and ongoing
monitoring and maintenance.
Database Programmer:
Focused on creating databases and queries, optimizing performance, and ensuring data integrity and
security. Responsibilities encompass database and structure creation, query development, and
maintenance.
Database Analyst:
Works with companies to enhance data systems, identifying opportunities for setup and
improvement. Tasks involve planning and designing databases, modifying existing structures, and
designing technical requirements for data flow.
Database Project Manager:
Oversees timely, cost-effective, and quality completion of database projects. Responsibilities
include scheduling, goal definition, quality monitoring, team management, standards enforcement,
financial management, and policy development.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
,Files and Databases:
- Data is saved in a computer’s memory while a user is working in an application. This
information a user might need later is stored in a database or in a file.
- Databases are a collection of organized data.
Data Collection
Web Forms:
- A web form is an online interactive page that allows for user input. It usually contains GUI
components.
- It also limits paperwork and documentation and favours online documentation.
Tags:
- Electronic tags transmit a radio frequency from the tag to a reader and vice versa. It
transmits the information to a computer program associated with the tag.
RFID:
§ Radio Frequency Identification
§ Tiny chips that stored information. When scanned, the information is read and
displayed on a computer, and it could even be added directly to a database.
§ RFID can be used to tag:
o Products stored in warehouses and shops.
o Tools stored in a workshop.
o Tickets.
E-Tolls and RFID:
§ The e-toll system (2014) was created to help the government fund the
R20 billion highway improvement project that had been running from 2007.
§ An e-tag needed to be purchased, and the RFID chip was read by the toll gantry. It
made use of cameras and RFID readers to record the information of the car driving
through the gantry.
Digital Sensors:
- An electronic or electrochemical sensor, where data conversion and data
transmission are done digitally.
- Sensors sense a wide range of different energy forms.
Invisible Online Data Collection:
- Websites are set up so that any information entered by users are automatically stored
in different databases. These databases also store the user’s personal information.
- A cookie is a message given to a web browser by a web server. Each time the browser
requests a page from the server the message is sent back to the server. The cookie
identifies users and could customize web pages for each person.
- Some software is specifically built to read information and record it in a database.
Software also allows companies to create automatic reports from the database.
Transaction Tracking:
- Transaction data is sent from stored to the corporate database.
- Data is also stored on cards.
- Benefits of transaction tracking:
Ó Ajee De Villiers
, § Consumer safety.
§ Enhancing a user’s on-site experience.
§ Fraud detection.
- Disadvantage: unauthorized use of your personal information.
Location Based Data:
- Data that provides information about different things that can be shown on maps.
- Static: Things that are permanent and does not move, like buildings.
- Non-Static: Things that move and need a GPS to see its position, like cars.
- Location based services (LBS) use software applications together with the location- based
databases to deliver a service. Examples:
§ Weather applications.
§ Food ordering applications.
§ Car sharing services.
Data Warehousing
What Is Data Warehousing:
- It is a technique for storing data from more than one database.
- It takes the data from databases and stores it in a non-normalized way. Since it is not
normalized, there may be redundancies and thus uses additional storage space.
- Goal of data warehousing: To make the data available and ready for analysis.
- It does not contain copies of the original databases, it is a new database, created
to hold structured data from multiple sources.
Data Warehousing VS Database:
- Data warehouse: Stores a large quantity of historical data and all the data from the various
databases are available.
- Database: Stores current transactions and enables easy access to specific
transactions for ongoing business processes.
Data Mining
What Is Data Mining:
- A process used to identify trends and patterns between different sets of data in large
databases. This can improve decision making.
- For example:
§ Marketing: By looking for patterns and trends, makes it possible to guess
customer’s behaviour to direct personalized advertisements.
Data Mining Process:
- Extract Relevant Data:
§ Use the full database to create a new database containing only the information
relevant to you.
§ Data will be extracted using SQL. It is a programming language that was created
to manipulate and extract data from a database. You can specify:
o Which fields to extract.
o Which data tables to use.
o What conditions are used.
- Look For Patterns in The Data:
§ Look for patterns in the data that will help you understand the dataset.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
, § These patterns can turn into knowledge and is used to make better decisions and
develop strategies.
- Discover knowledge:
§ Identifying these patterns, you can turn data into a few useful facts.
§ It helps you to understand the facts and make it useful.
§ Decisions can be made, and strategies can be developed.
Caring for and managing data
Value of data and metadata:
- Websites creators can ask sellers to enter important data of their products on the website,
from where it is added to a database. This way online shops can continue to sell their
products.
- A useful database needs to record and store valuable and useful data. Only data that will
be potentially used by you, is valuable.
CHARACTERISTIC DESCRIPTION
S
Accurate Data needs to be correct and precise.
Consistent Data in one part of your database should not contradict or differ
from the data in another part of your database.
Current Data should be up to date. If the information is not current, the
data might not be relevant or accurate.
Complete Incomplete data can cause data to be difficult to use and
misleading.
Relevant Good quality data is relevant to the people who are using it.
How to protect data:
- Data Validation:
§ It is the process where you check if the data is accurate, in the correct format and type
before the database record it.
§ As a result, data is consistent and accurate.
§ It also prevents unauthorized access.
- Data Verification:
§ Manual technique used to make sure data on a database is correct and accurate.
§ Full verification:
o Each piece of data entered, is read and checked by someone. This is very time
consuming.
§ Sample verification:
o Randomly selected data is checked to ensure there aren’t systematic errors. It
helps to notice errors that occur in all data.
- Data Integrity
§ Reliability, accuracy, and how trustworthy data is over its lifecycle.
§ Uncorrupted data is data that stays unchanged throughout its lifecycle.
- Logging Changes
§ Recording of any changes made by users to a database.
§ It discourages people to sabotage a database.
§ It creates an audit trail, which records:
o Who made changes.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
Database management
Database – a collection of interrelated data. In practice, these applications do the same basic tasks,
but they may do them in different ways with different levels of complexity. Ex social media, iCloud.
Database Management System – is a collection of programs that enables us to create and maintain a
Database. It is general-purpose software system that facilitates the process of defining, constructing and
manipulating database for various applications. A database system consists of the combination of a DBMS
and a database.
DBMS software enables you to:
The advantages of a DBMS are listed below:
• create databases
• add new data to databases • Data sharing
• delete information from databases • Data Independence
• retrieve data from databases • Better data integrity
• make data available to users • Controlled Redundancy
• Data consistency
Singe user database/desktop database
For small databases accessed by a single user on one computer, ex. Microsoft Access suffices. It
runs locally, dedicating all resources to one user at a time. Ex. Personal cloud storage
Distributed database
For larger databases accessed by multiple users from various locations. It runs on a dedicated server,
facilitating access for multiple users simultaneously. It can be stored locally or in the cloud, with
resources shared among connected users. Ex. IT-classroom or workspace
Database careers
Database Administrator:
Primarily responsible for managing company or program data. Duties include database design, user
access provision, security implementation, backup setup, policy enforcement, and ongoing
monitoring and maintenance.
Database Programmer:
Focused on creating databases and queries, optimizing performance, and ensuring data integrity and
security. Responsibilities encompass database and structure creation, query development, and
maintenance.
Database Analyst:
Works with companies to enhance data systems, identifying opportunities for setup and
improvement. Tasks involve planning and designing databases, modifying existing structures, and
designing technical requirements for data flow.
Database Project Manager:
Oversees timely, cost-effective, and quality completion of database projects. Responsibilities
include scheduling, goal definition, quality monitoring, team management, standards enforcement,
financial management, and policy development.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
,Files and Databases:
- Data is saved in a computer’s memory while a user is working in an application. This
information a user might need later is stored in a database or in a file.
- Databases are a collection of organized data.
Data Collection
Web Forms:
- A web form is an online interactive page that allows for user input. It usually contains GUI
components.
- It also limits paperwork and documentation and favours online documentation.
Tags:
- Electronic tags transmit a radio frequency from the tag to a reader and vice versa. It
transmits the information to a computer program associated with the tag.
RFID:
§ Radio Frequency Identification
§ Tiny chips that stored information. When scanned, the information is read and
displayed on a computer, and it could even be added directly to a database.
§ RFID can be used to tag:
o Products stored in warehouses and shops.
o Tools stored in a workshop.
o Tickets.
E-Tolls and RFID:
§ The e-toll system (2014) was created to help the government fund the
R20 billion highway improvement project that had been running from 2007.
§ An e-tag needed to be purchased, and the RFID chip was read by the toll gantry. It
made use of cameras and RFID readers to record the information of the car driving
through the gantry.
Digital Sensors:
- An electronic or electrochemical sensor, where data conversion and data
transmission are done digitally.
- Sensors sense a wide range of different energy forms.
Invisible Online Data Collection:
- Websites are set up so that any information entered by users are automatically stored
in different databases. These databases also store the user’s personal information.
- A cookie is a message given to a web browser by a web server. Each time the browser
requests a page from the server the message is sent back to the server. The cookie
identifies users and could customize web pages for each person.
- Some software is specifically built to read information and record it in a database.
Software also allows companies to create automatic reports from the database.
Transaction Tracking:
- Transaction data is sent from stored to the corporate database.
- Data is also stored on cards.
- Benefits of transaction tracking:
Ó Ajee De Villiers
, § Consumer safety.
§ Enhancing a user’s on-site experience.
§ Fraud detection.
- Disadvantage: unauthorized use of your personal information.
Location Based Data:
- Data that provides information about different things that can be shown on maps.
- Static: Things that are permanent and does not move, like buildings.
- Non-Static: Things that move and need a GPS to see its position, like cars.
- Location based services (LBS) use software applications together with the location- based
databases to deliver a service. Examples:
§ Weather applications.
§ Food ordering applications.
§ Car sharing services.
Data Warehousing
What Is Data Warehousing:
- It is a technique for storing data from more than one database.
- It takes the data from databases and stores it in a non-normalized way. Since it is not
normalized, there may be redundancies and thus uses additional storage space.
- Goal of data warehousing: To make the data available and ready for analysis.
- It does not contain copies of the original databases, it is a new database, created
to hold structured data from multiple sources.
Data Warehousing VS Database:
- Data warehouse: Stores a large quantity of historical data and all the data from the various
databases are available.
- Database: Stores current transactions and enables easy access to specific
transactions for ongoing business processes.
Data Mining
What Is Data Mining:
- A process used to identify trends and patterns between different sets of data in large
databases. This can improve decision making.
- For example:
§ Marketing: By looking for patterns and trends, makes it possible to guess
customer’s behaviour to direct personalized advertisements.
Data Mining Process:
- Extract Relevant Data:
§ Use the full database to create a new database containing only the information
relevant to you.
§ Data will be extracted using SQL. It is a programming language that was created
to manipulate and extract data from a database. You can specify:
o Which fields to extract.
o Which data tables to use.
o What conditions are used.
- Look For Patterns in The Data:
§ Look for patterns in the data that will help you understand the dataset.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
, § These patterns can turn into knowledge and is used to make better decisions and
develop strategies.
- Discover knowledge:
§ Identifying these patterns, you can turn data into a few useful facts.
§ It helps you to understand the facts and make it useful.
§ Decisions can be made, and strategies can be developed.
Caring for and managing data
Value of data and metadata:
- Websites creators can ask sellers to enter important data of their products on the website,
from where it is added to a database. This way online shops can continue to sell their
products.
- A useful database needs to record and store valuable and useful data. Only data that will
be potentially used by you, is valuable.
CHARACTERISTIC DESCRIPTION
S
Accurate Data needs to be correct and precise.
Consistent Data in one part of your database should not contradict or differ
from the data in another part of your database.
Current Data should be up to date. If the information is not current, the
data might not be relevant or accurate.
Complete Incomplete data can cause data to be difficult to use and
misleading.
Relevant Good quality data is relevant to the people who are using it.
How to protect data:
- Data Validation:
§ It is the process where you check if the data is accurate, in the correct format and type
before the database record it.
§ As a result, data is consistent and accurate.
§ It also prevents unauthorized access.
- Data Verification:
§ Manual technique used to make sure data on a database is correct and accurate.
§ Full verification:
o Each piece of data entered, is read and checked by someone. This is very time
consuming.
§ Sample verification:
o Randomly selected data is checked to ensure there aren’t systematic errors. It
helps to notice errors that occur in all data.
- Data Integrity
§ Reliability, accuracy, and how trustworthy data is over its lifecycle.
§ Uncorrupted data is data that stays unchanged throughout its lifecycle.
- Logging Changes
§ Recording of any changes made by users to a database.
§ It discourages people to sabotage a database.
§ It creates an audit trail, which records:
o Who made changes.
Ó Ajee De Villiers
