Presented By: Gail Rose-Innes Camps Bay High School ICT & CAT Department Microsoft Access 2010

 What is Data ?  Data versus Information  History of Databases  What is a Database?  Examples for Small and Large Databases.  Types of Databases.  The 4 Main Objects in Access.  Data Types used in Access.

 raw facts  It has no context  It is just numbers and text Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be seen as simple, random and useless until it is processed and organized into information.

What is Information?  data with context  processed data  value-added to data › summarised › organised › analysed When data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context, so as to make it useful, it is called Information.

Data Information 5/10/14 The date of your exam. R Your annual income

Data  6.34  6.45  6.39  6.62  6.57  6.64  6.71  6.82  7.12  7.06 Information

Data Information Summarizing the data Averaging the data Selecting part of the data Graphing the data Adding context Adding value

Paper Ledger Index Cards

l your personal address book in a Word document. l a collection of Word documents. l a collection of Excel Spreadsheets. data collected, maintained, and used in airline reservation. A Database is an Organized Collection of Information.

Telephone bills Class lists and marks Telephone contacts lists

DataBase Management Systems (DBMS) For Fast Food Restaurants :

MS Access is a DBMS Program

Data Base An organized collection of information.

» An object comprised of fields (columns) » that collect records (rows of data) about a specific topic. Table Field » A table’s column that stores specific information and when combined with other fields (columns), makes up a record. Record » A row in a table that is a collection of related data.

Query You can locate specific information stored in a table, or in multiple tables, by creating a query that specifies the criteria you want to match. Queries can be: simple (looking for a certain criteria in one field), or complex (looking for multiple criteria in many fields).

Forms To make entering data easier, forms are used. Forms are user friendly; can prompt, offer dropdown boxes and validate the data entered by the users.

Reports Tables and query results appear in plain datasheets, which are not very attractive when printed. Reports present data from tables and queries in an attractive, customizable format — complete with titles, headers and footers, and even logos and graphics.

Tables store data Queries Organize or search for a specific data Forms Display data on screen Reports Print out data

Each field is defined by a data type. Each data type takes up a specific space in the computer’s memory, some of these sizes can be changed & some of them are fixed. The following table shows the changes you can make to: Text, Number, & AutoNumber fields. We should save disk space, especially in large databases, by defining the appropriate data type and adjusting the field size. Data Types in Access

Data TypeUsed forNotes Text Text & numbers General-purpose field containing any data. Limit of 255 characters. Cannot be used for numeric calculations. Use this type for numeric entries that will not have calculations performed on them, such as telephone numbers and ZIP codes. Memo Text & numbers Limit of 65,535 characters. In Access 2007 file format, can hold rich text with formatting. Some limitations on usage in formulas & functions. Number Numbers only Flexible field size of 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 bytes. Can also hold symbols used as helpers for numbers, such as decimal points and commas. Date/Time Numbers representing dates & times Stores dates & times as 8-byte numbers. Only numbers representing valid dates or times are accepted. Currency Numbers representing currency values Stores currency values as 8-byte numbers. Even though the field might only show two decimal places, depending on formatting, it keeps track of up to four, to prevent rounding off.

Data types in Access Data TypeUsed forNotes AutoNumber Automatically generating numbering for each record Stores Access-generated values as 4-byte numbers. Yes/No Boolean data -1 represent Yes and 0 represent No, but the field can be formatted to display values as True/False, On/Off, or Yes/No. Hyperlink A text address representing an external source You can link to Web sites, addresses, files on your PC, files on a LAN, or virtually any other location. Attachment Any supported file type Works only in Access 2007 databases. You can attach data files form word-processing programs, spreadsheets, and graphics editing programs, and so on. Lookup WizardVariesDepending on usage, either creates a lookup list from data that you specify of creates a lookup list from the values in another table. Can also be used to set up multivalued lists.