Today You will become familiar with the Appleworks software. You will create your own ‘fields’ and ‘records.’ In the actually program!!!!

Appleworks Database

AppleWorks Database We are going to be using a program called AppleWorks in order to introduce databases A couple of warnings about AppleWorks: –This is a very old program – it is not available to consumers –This is a very slow working program that consumes a lot of RAM Save Early! Save Often!! Known to Crash! –Students have been known to get very frustrated with the speed of the program!

AppleWorks Databases Microsoft Access is the most widely used database in North America –But, there are literally thousands of database programs available and often customizable to different industries So……why use AppleWorks? –Of all the database programs I have seen AppleWorks does the best job of: Introducing Concepts Making their program user friendly Keeping things simple

So far…. We learned about how a database is like a filing cabinet inside of a computer Its purpose is for quick recording and retrieval of various information

So far….. We learned the two major listings of a database –1) Record—contains all the information relating to an individual item or person in a database (ex: your school record) –2) Field— contains the pieces of information within a record (ex: student number, first & last name, etc.)

Databases Concepts Continued Under each Field – we have to define the type of data that the field will contain –Example: Age – number, Occupation – text, Date of Birth – date Each field also may have a maximum number of characters allowed –Example: Phone numbers – 10, Postal Codes - 6

Database – Field Options 1)Text – Simply Type in the text 2)Numbers – Enter in Numbers 3)Drop Box – Gives several predetermined options 4)Checklist – Chose one of two options –Example: Sex

Features of Databases Tables – hold the information that the database is supposed to hold. Query – Allow you to do calculations in a database. Forms – These are display boxes that allow you to enter information directly into a table. Report – Professional looking reports that summarize the database.

Table

Forms

TASK We will be keeping an ongoing assignment for this unit that will evolve as the classes progress. Today’s task: We are going to build a database for our class.

CLASS DATABASE Questions you must ask at least 10 students 1.First Name (Text) 2.Last Name (Text) 3.Age (Number) 4.Sex (radio button) 5.Homeroom Teacher (text) 6.Favourite Sport (Dropdown) 7.Number of Siblings (Number) 8.Hair Colour (dropdown) 9.Eye Colour (dropdown) 10.Student Card (checkbox)