cosc 471 definitions

Database

A collection of related data

Data

Known facts that can be recorded and have an implicit meaning

Database Management System (DBMS)

A software package/ system to facilitate the creation and maintenance of a computerized database

Meta-data

This allows the DBMS software to work with different database applications

Program-data Independence

Allows changing data structures and storage organization without having to change the DBMS access programs

Data model

A set of concepts to describe the structure of a database, the operations for manipulating these structures, and certain constraints that the database should obey

Database schema

Includes descriptions of the database structure, data types, and the constraints on the database.

Database state

The actual data stored in a database at a particular moment in time. This includes the collection of all the data in the database.

DDL

Used by the DBA and database designers to specify the conceptual schema of a database.

Entity type

Entity set

Relationship instance

Attribute

Value set

Relationship type

Relationship set

Recursive relationship

Participation role

Participation constraint

Cardinality ratio

Weak entity type

Owner entity type

Partial key