Chapter 1: Databases – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on databases and database architectures.

Schema

Structure and organization of the database.

Attribute

A relevant piece of information about the things of interest.

Relationship

A connection between things of interest.

Database

A structured collection of data stored for information retrieval and management.

Database Approach

An information system consisting of three components: the DBMS, the data, and the application software.

DBMS (Database Management System)

Software that manages data, allowing definition, manipulation, and access control within a database.

Data Definition

Providing a way to define and build the database.

Data Manipulation

Providing a way to insert and update data in the database.

Query Execution

Answering questions about the data in the database.

Data Integrity

Ensuring that data stored is well formed.

Data Security

Enforcing restrictions about who is able to access what data.

Data Portability

Providing a means for backup and restore.

Data Recovery

Protecting data from loss in a catastrophic hardware or software failure.

Provenance

Logging capabilities to provide an audit trail for data changes.

Performance

Providing a means to tune and optimize operation.

Multiuser Concurrency

Supporting the activities of many users at the same time.

Automatic Processing

Providing a way to define rules to execute business logic (e.g. stored procedures and triggers).

Mainframe

A large-scale central computer system where DBMS and data are accessed via terminals.

Desktop

A single-person computer architecture; DBMS runs on a desktop PC.

File Server

Architecture using a file server to store data and run DBMS, accessed over a network.

Client-Server

Architecture with a database server providing data to applications across a network.

Web

Web-based architecture with a database server, web server, and browsers over the Internet.

OLTP

Online Transaction Processing; day-to-day processes with rapid, real-time inserts/updates and normalized data.

OLAP

Online Analytical Processing; strategic decision making with large, often denormalized data and complex queries.

TPS

Transaction Processing System; supports daily activities by capturing transactions and presenting detailed information.

MIS

Management Information System; uses TPS data to generate management reports and forecast trends.

DSS

Decision Support System; supports strategic decisions using internal and external data with modeling tools.

Data Warehouse

A database designed for analyzing, querying, and reporting; often composed of data marts.

Data Mart

A smaller data warehouse focusing on a specific type of data.

ETL

Extract, Transform, Load; process of loading data into a data warehouse.

Data Mining

Technique to analyze and extract information from massive databases.

Internal Data

Operational data produced within the organization.

External Data

Data purchased from outside sources.

Raw Data

Data before ETL transformation.