1. Databases

2. What is a Database? A database is an organized collection of related information. An electronic database is an efficient means of storing and retrieving data and printing reports from the stored data.

3. Commonly used databases Address books Dictionaries Encyclopedias Library card catalogs Patient data Student data Telephone directories

4. Advantages of an electronic database Accurate, quick and efficient arrangement of data in alphabetical or numerical order Ability to find and retrieve data Ability to generate reports on the database Ease of editing existing data

5. Steps to design a database 1. Plan and design the database according to needs and requirements 2. Determine the fields or categories that will be used in the database 3. Determine field properties to include size and type

6. Techniques/Devices to input data Keyboard Mouse PDA’s Scanners Speech Recognition Software Web forms

7. Terminology An entry is data that is in a field A field is one category of information A field name is the title that is assigned to a field A record is a group of related fields of one item of information in the database A file is the collection of related records.

8. Example of an entry Last NameFirst NameAddressCityStateZip AdamsTom33 East StreetSilasNC22558 GoinsJuan76 Liberty RdBogardNC55987 SawyerSarah26 Main StreetOakwoodNC44897

9. Examples of fields Last NameFirst NameAddressCityStateZip AdamsTom33 East StreetSilasNC22558 GoinsJuan76 Liberty RdBogardNC55987 SawyerSarah26 Main StreetOakwoodNC44897

10. Examples of records Last NameFirst NameAddressCityStateZip AdamsTom33 East StreetSilasNC22558 GoinsJuan76 Liberty RdBogardNC55987 SawyerSarah26 Main StreetOakwoodNC44897

11. Example of database file Last NameFirst NameAddressCityStateZip AdamsTom33 East StreetSilasNC22558 GoinsJuan76 Liberty RdBogardNC55987 SawyerSarah26 Main StreetOakwoodNC44897

12. Typical views of a database List view – Displays several records on the screen at a time Form view – Displays one record on the screen at a time. – Commonly used in data entry.

13. General data types Currency ($) Date (03/03/03) Numeric (450) – These numbers can be used in calculations I.E. Gross pay, basketball statistics, etc. Text/General (Smith) – Numbers may used, but would not be computed I.E. Social security numbers, telephone numbers, etc.

14. Sorting to arrange data in alphabetical or numerical order Ascending order (1-10 or A-Z) – 1,2,3,4,5 – Adams, Petteway, Rodriquez Descending order (10-1 or Z-A) – 5,4,3,2,1 – Rodriquez, Petteway, Adams

15. Primary/Secondary Sorts Primary key: The field selected as the unique identifier for the database.(i.e. Student number) Primary sort: The first field that a database is sorted on. Secondary sort: The second field that a database is sorted on. Student No. Last Name AgeGrade 001Pate126 005Brown148 010Brown1610 Primary Sort: Last name (in Descending order) Secondary Sort: Age (in ascending order) Primary Key: Student No.

16. Searching/Querying/Filtering to find specific data based upon a given criteria or condition Queries/Filters use connectors and comparison operators to define the search criteria – Connectors (AND, OR, NOT) – Comparison operators (, =, =, <>)