Intro: 1 What is a Database? Collection of Dynamic Data –Large Large of yesteryear now fits on a PC (small DBs) Many applications require even more (terabytes, petabytes) Size is sometimes thought of as the distinguishing feature –Persistent With Some Operations –To Maintain the Data –To Retrieve the Data

Intro: 2 What is a Database? Collection of Dynamic Data –Large Large of yesteryear now fits on a PC (small DBs) Many applications require even more (terabytes, petabytes) Size is sometimes thought of as the distinguishing feature –Persistent With Some Operations –To Maintain the Data –To Retrieve the Data Data Metadata Query Data through Metadata

Intro: 3 What is a Database System? Provides Languages –DDL (Data-Definition Language) Data Definition Metadata –DML (Data-Manipulation Language) Data Retrieval Data Update Provides Services –Storage Structures (files, indexes, …) –Optimizers –Crash Recovery –Concurrency Control –Constraint Checking (integrity) Supports a Database

Intro: 4 What is a Database Application? A Database with Application Programs –Runs on a Database System –Helps Satisfy End-User Business Needs Examples (of Application Areas) –Traditional: e.g. Airline Res., Banking, Business Records –Decision Support –Design –Knowledge and Scientific –Multimedia –Information Integration & Data Warehousing

Intro: 5 What’s to Learn about Databases? Terminology and Fundamental Concepts SQL –Underlying Concepts (relational algebra and calculus) –Advanced Patterns and Usage –Embeddings in High-Level Languages –Triggers and Transaction Processing Secondary Storage Characteristics (query efficiency) –Files, Indexing, Hashing –Query Optimization (query rewriting, cost estimation) –Crash Recovery & Concurrency Control Database Design –Conceptual Modeling –Design (mapping conceptual models to database schemas, normalization) (focus on practical DB application development)

What are the Current/Future Challenges for Database Systems? World-Wide Data Initiatives (& CS452 Discussion Topics) –Dataspaces –Semi-structured Data –Semantic Web –Intelligence Gathering and Analysis BYU Student Mentoring Opportunities –Knowledge Bundles –Multilingual Ontologies –Revitalization of OCRed Historical Documents –Web of Knowledge (WoK) HyKSS, TANGO, WoK Reasoner WePS, Craig’s List Alerter, WoK-HD Intro: 6