A5 Database Management Systems

This week’s reading was on database management systems. Specifically, relational database management systems were looked into. I personally find database management an interesting topic, particularly because the internet and many of its capabilities would not be possible without the use of databases. Our world very much relies upon efficient and effective database structuring and management for social networking, online banking, and countless other services provided through the interested that required storing and accessing information.
When discussing the relation model, essentially, tables are formed in a database (such as excel) where information is stored and coded and can be related to another table. The computer only sees a mathematical logic tie from table to table, where the user determines what information is related between each table of information.
From a usage standpoint, the applicability for relational databases is endless. From the reading assignment, some of the emerging technologies that utilize relational databases include

· Graphical information systems
· Process data
· Multimedia technology
· Mobile databases
· Storage and access to special data

Article 1

The first article I read is titled “Database Management Systems.” This article offers a nice overview of DMS and their basic structures, functions, and applications. It’s interesting to note that this article emphasizes the importance of careful database design, to protect its users and their stored information.
Another great aspect of this article is that it lists the advantages and disadvantages of relation database systems. These include:

Advantages:
· Rigorous design methodology
· Modifiability
· Flexibility
Disadvantages:
· Requires more processing resources
· Slower response times

http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/gis/Volume1/BB1v1_ch18.pdf
Article 2

The second article I read is titled “Toward a Verified Relational Database Management System.”
This article was not too interesting to me. It heavily focused on the actual database coding process involved in creating a database management system. An overview of the papers discussion is best summarized from the following passage:
The main verification task is showing that the RDBMS correctly executes queries with respect to a denotational semantics of SQL and relations.

Although it was very informative, this article went beyond an introductory level and discussed database systems on a more dynamic, coding level.




http://ynot.cs.harvard.edu/papers/popl10.pdf