Databases: Tools for the Information Age

Sometime, during the second half of the 20th century, Western Society evolved from an industrial to a post-industrial, or to be precise, an Information Society.

Data -- Information -- Knowledge l Data: raw materials, building blocks, which have no inherent meaning – examples: 24,542 black yellow March 3, 1982 l Information: Data placed in a meaningful form – examples: numbers arranged in a table of census data or provided in context l Knowledge: Insights, judgements humans form upon interacting with information

Information Explosion l Information doubles every 5 years l Why? What has contributed to this exponential growth? – 1. New answers to scientific questions (which generates more questions and answers) – 2. Bureaucracy in government and life l Our challenge: How to manage and make useful this information

Benefits of Managing Data with Computers l more efficient organization, storage, retrieval, sorting, & manipulation of data l which promotes understanding and communication of information

What is a Database? l An organized collection of related information l Sample non-electronic databases: – telephone book – home inventory – recipe file – card catalog – (organized) file cabinet

Elements of a Database File l File – Collection of information about a topic – Examples: card catalog, telephone book l Record – All the information about one entry in a file – Examples: individual book or person l Field – Attributes which organize the information within a record – Examples: author, title, name, telephone number l Entry – Specific data entered within a field – Example: Little House on the Prairie,

Capabilities of all Electronic Databases l Finding records l Sorting records – by any field – Examples: last name, date of birth, last account activity l Selecting records which meet specific criteria – Example: Clients who responded to the last mailing. l Printing reports – Example: Names and addresses of clients living in Fresno or Clovis.

Management of Instruction l Student information – address, phone, birthdate, parent names, status of health exams l Classroom materials – textbook assignments, check-out of books and equipment l Organization of curriculum – lesson plans – resources available within the school

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