Database management is a system of managing information that a company needs to run its business operations. It involves storing and distributing data it to applications and users and editing it as required, monitoring data changes, and stopping data corruption due unexpected failure. It is a component of the overall informational infrastructure of a company that supports decision making in corporate growth, as well as compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM along with other companies developed the first database systems. They developed into information management systems (IMS) that allowed the storage and retrieve large amounts data for a variety of uses, from calculating inventory to supporting complicated financial accounting and human resources functions.
A database consists of tables that organize data according to a certain schema, such as one-to many relationships. It uses primary key to identify records, and also allows cross-references among tables. Each table has a variety of fields, known as attributes, which provide information about the data entities. The most widely used type of database today is a relational model created by E. F. « Ted » Codd at IBM in the 1970s. The design is based on normalizing the data, making it easier to use. It is also simpler to update data since it doesn’t require the modification of certain sections of the database.
Most DBMSs can accommodate multiple types of databases through different levels of internal and external organization. The internal level deals with costs, scalability and other operational issues, including the physical layout of the database. The external level is how the database appears in user interfaces and other applications. It may include a mix of external views based on different data models and may also include virtual tables that are calculated using generic data to improve the performance.