Leaving Cert Computer Science — Databases

Vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, data types, and structures of computer science databases.

Database

An electronic system used to store, retrieve and manipulate data.

File Processing Systems

Information storage systems where data was kept in individual files before the advent of databases.

Data Independence

A characteristic that allows the underlying data structure to change without changing the programs using it.

Database Management System (DBMS)

Software used to create and manage databases, such as MySQL, Oracle, or Microsoft Access.

Redundancy

The unnecessary duplication of data within a system.

VARCHAR

A data type used to store text, letters, numbers, and special characters.

NUMBER

A data type specifically for storing numbers used in calculations.

BOOLEAN

A data type used to store TRUE/FALSE or YES/NO values.

DATE/TIMESTAMP

A data type used for storing dates and times.

BLOB

A data type used for storing large files such as images, audio, or videos.

Flat File Database

A database that stores data in a single table or spreadsheet, such as a CSV file.

Fields

The columns in a database table structure.

Records

The rows in a database table structure.

Relational Database

A database that contains multiple related tables linked together.

Data Integrity

The consistency and accuracy of data throughout its lifecycle.

Integrity Constraints

Rules used to ensure data remains valid, such as requiring unique student numbers.

Concurrency Control

The management of multiple users accessing and interacting with data at the same time.

Primary Key

A field that uniquely identifies each record in a table and cannot be empty.

Foreign Key

A field used to link tables together by referencing a primary key from another table.