Information Systems Passive and Interactive

Learning Objectives Compare and contrast passive and interactive information systems.

Information System A system that provides information according to a user’s requests.

Passive information systems Will answer queries based on the data that is held within them, but the data is not altered.

Interactive information systems Data can be entered for processing, which may alter the contents of the database.

Passive or Interactive? Electronic Encyclopaedia A school secretary updating the attendance record of a pupil in the pupil file. A stock control system in a supermarket. A customer wants some work done or makes a payment. A large chemical plant is controlled automatically from a central control room. One process is to mix two chemicals at a specific temperature and pressure. The process is to be computer controlled. Information about the state of chemical processes in the plant is conveyed to the control room. Student file in a school that can be accessed by members of the teaching staff to find out where a student is at a particular time of day, or to look up their telephone number in order to contact the parents; but it is not possible for an ordinary teacher to alter it. Customers contact a firm to ask for a quote for a standard piece of work.

Passive Electronic Encyclopaedia where queries can be used to search for data but the user is not allowed to alter the data. Student file in a school that can be accessed by members of the teaching staff to find out where a student is at a particular time of day, or to look up their telephone number in order to contact the parents; but it is not possible for an ordinary teacher to alter it. Customers contact a firm to ask for a quote for a standard piece of work. This quote / estimate would be obtained from a database which remains unchanged during the enquiry.

Interactive A school secretary updating the attendance record of a pupil in the pupil file. A stock control system in a supermarket is an interactive information system because it not only gives information like the price and the description of the goods for the till receipt (passive), but also updates the number in stock immediately (interactive) so that when the next item is sold the number in stock has already been altered. If a customer wants some work done or makes a payment then the customer’s record in a database would need to be altered to reflect this. A large chemical plant is controlled automatically from a central control room. One process is to mix two chemicals at a specific temperature and pressure. The process is to be computer controlled. Information about the state of chemical processes in the plant is conveyed to the control room. Operators need to alter automatic process.

Plenary What is the difference between What is the difference between passive and interactive information systems? Passive: Passive: Will answer queries based on the data that is held within them, but the data is not altered. Interactive: Interactive: Data can be entered for processing, which may alter the contents of the database.