BIM week 6 reading

The two articles I read from AcessScience are listed below:

“Database Management Systems”
“Decision Support Systems”

The first assigned article I read provided details about the components of database management systems. This article was quite interesting because it brought light to a type of programming that we take for granted every day. It even addresses how databases are used in payroll offices as well as in airlines to pull up reservations. It takes complex programming and maintenance to create such a complex database, but once it is constructed the database can be used to expedite workloads tremendously. The innovation of databases is truly remarkable because of how much time can be saved by its users. The article made it a clear point to show that databases are an individual collection of information used for one purpose. Databases can be linked by a common set of data, but typically are separated into separate files. An example the article provided was how an employee would have their employee information in one database, and their W2 information in another. Two different databases would have information for the same employee but both can be accessed by the employee’s id number. Since databases are particular to certain uses, could mean that companies could attain massive file sizes. This article states that the future will bring even larger file sizes than we currently have, potentially into the Petabyte or Exabyte file sizes. Now I can only imagine the type of computer that will be needed to open and operate a file of that size. Another topic addressed is how this information can be accessed by its user. It goes into deep discussion about the type of programming that would be needed in order to pull up information from multiple databases at one time. At this point was where I found myself somewhat confused. I personally have never been a big fan of programming due to its complex nature. But this article does do a good job getting its point across.

The second article I read along with the assigned reading was about decision support systems. This was a rather short article however it did address the topic and give me a basic idea on the overall topic. It detailed in the process of how a program would make a decision. This article seemed to emphasize on the use of artificial intelligence rather than a user’s input. Database management systems are a key component in the decision making process of the decision support system. Dialog generation and management systems along with model base management systems are two other key components in the decision system. The goal of this program is to sort through structured and semi structured data. It pulls this information from these databases and systems and is able to construct a model that can be used to identify the results. The article emphasizes that these tasks be performed by artificial intelligence. This article was interesting and gave me some insight on the matter; however I believe further detail is required in order to earn more credibility. I do agree that this type of programming and work will have an even greater impact on companies in the future.