Question

Discuss the foundations and evolution of traditional data in a database and before databases existed.

Answer 1

Solution :-

Foundation and evolution of Database Management System

Data and Information are a part of everybody's daily life in the present day. Even if people who do not own a computer or mobile phone interact with them regularly. When we are giving our attendance, or shopping online or using a social medial platform, we are accessing a database. The goal of information systems is to transform data into information in order to generate knowledge that can be used for decision making.

Databases are essentially software applications. A database management system provides data to other applications, allowing all the digital information systems that we interact with today. The well-organised system of collection and storage which allows easy access of a particular record or data entered in the system is the key feature of the Database management system. Many applications use databases to access information from them. These applications process the data and turn it into something useful for the users, which is the end information.

History and evolution of database

Before the existence of databases, the data were recorded on paper. We had lists, journals, registers, and endless archives containing hundreds of thousands or even millions of records contained in the cabinets. The records were physically fetched and it took a lot of effort and time to even get a small chunk of data. There were often big problems ranging from misplaced records to fires that wiped out entire archives and destroyed the history of societies, organisations and governments. There were also security problems because physical access was often easy to gain. Thus even the most valuable data were also vulnerable.

Virtual database was created with the evolution of technology to try and solve these limitations of traditional paper-based information storage. In databases, the files are called records and the individual data elements in a record (for example, name, phone number, date of birth) are called fields. The way these elements are stored has evolved since the early days of databases.

The earlier database systems were made according to the hierarchical and network models. The hierarchical model organised data in the form of a tree.

Hierarchical Model :- The hierarchical model represents data as records which are connected with links. Each record has a parent record, starting with the root record. Records in the hierarchical model contained one field. To access data using this model, the whole tree had to be traversed. These types of database still exist today and do have a place in development, despite the significant advances in technology.

The hierarchical model did solve many of the problems mentioned above with a paper-based system.

Network Model :- It was the next significant innovation in databases. It overcame the restrictions of the hierarchical model. This model allows relationships, and it has a “schema”. The main difference between the hierarchical model and the network model is that the network model allows each record to have more than one parent and child record. The network model allows entities to have relationships, just like in real life.

Relational model :- The relational model was much easier for designers to understand and the programming interface was better. The 1980s saw tremendous advances in computing technology and the relational model started to become the most popular. The relational model describes the data in a database as being stored in tables, each containing records with fields. Most relational databases use a standard method for accessing the data: the Structured Query Language (SQL). SQL allows an application to gain access to the data needed by a user. The main advantage of the relational model is that it provides consistency in the data.

Since the relational model was created in the late 1960s, it has changed little. Database companies are among the largest and most profitable organisations in the world, and companies founded in the 1960s and 70s are still thriving today.  

Oracle dominated in the enterprise till the end of 80's when Microsoft developed a database called SQL Server 1.0.

In 1995, the first version of MySQL was released by a Swedish company MySQL AB, who funded the open source project. This software was the first significant database of the Internet and continues to be used by companies like Google (although not for search), Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube. The open-source license gave freedom to website developers and meant they did not have to rely on companies like Oracle and Microsoft. LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) became the most common setup for websites.  

Databases have allowed companies to develop incredibly sophisticated enterprise resource systems (ERP) that gather data from every part of an organisation and store it all in a central database. Data is collected from factories, offices, remote workers, sensors and anywhere that useful and quantifiable data exists.

Conclusion

Since their creation in the 1960s, databases have come a long way. Initially, they were a solution to the problem of storing and protecting the things we took note of and making it more accessible at a faster speed with less effort. Over time, they have become integral in our society, and we rely on them for banking, security, policing and in providing the services for our digital lives. For companies and large organizations, business intelligence systems are helping to make more accurate decisions based on real facts, rather than guesswork based on experience. Big Data is helping us find new insights from the data we have generated in the past and will be vital in understanding the society of the future. Without the service of databases, we would still be losing valuable information and the digital revolution would not have happened. The upcoming industrial revolution will be driven by data, and it will transform the lives of every consumer and business in the world.