- Data.
- Things known
or assumed. In the context of computing, data refers to the symbols
that a computer uses to represent facts and ideas.
- Database.
- Any collection
of information; technically, a collection of computer data in related
records treated as a single unit.
- Database Programs.
- Application software
used to create, store, and manage information, organized so it can
be updated, retrieved, sorted, grouped, filtered, summarized, and
displayed rapidly.
- Information System.
- A computer system that stores data and supplies information, usually
within a business context. Information systems often rely on databases.
- Data Warehouse.
- A large database capable of storing all the information possessed
by a large organization.
- Information.
- Words, numbers, sounds, graphics, etc. meaningful and useful to
people.
- Information Systems.
- Computer systems that store data and supply information, often relying
on databases.
- Bit.
- A bit is the smallest unit of information handled by a computer.
A bit can hold one of two values, either a 0 or a 1. Eight bits comprise
a byte which can represent a letter or number.
- Character.
- One of a standard set of symbols, such as letters, numbers, and
punctuation marks, represented by computers using bits.
- Field.
- In a database, an area designated to store a certain type of data,
the smallest meaningful unit of information contained in a data file.
In MS Access, records consist of fields.
- Field Name.
- A descriptor for the data found in a field.
- Data Type.
- Classifications of data, including text, number, currency, dates,
logical operators, and files.
- Default Value.
- Preassigned content for a record field, such as a date or number.
- Record.
- In a database, all the related fields about a single transaction,
person, event, collection, or other grouping of data.
- Key Field (Primary Key).
- A field in a data file containing information capable of uniquely
identifying a record in relation to all other records in the same
data file.
- Data File.
- In a database, a collection of related records. In MS Access, a
table is a data file. A database can consist of one or more data files.
- Data Integrity.
- The validity and accuracy of information in a database.
- Data Validation.
- Procedures built into databases to define and check acceptable input
for fields, and to accept or reject the data.
- Data Redundancy.
- Repetition of data within a database, an inefficiency increasing
the possiblity of errors in databases.
- File Management Software.
- Computer programs to organize, find, and print records without a
relational database capability to link data files.
- Relational Database.
- A database with the capability to relate information in different
data files using a common record (primary) key.
- Data Dictionary.
- A tool used in database management systems to track the tables,
fields, field names, field lengths, default settings, validation rules,
and relationships.
- Normalization.
- The process of analyzing data to create the most efficient database
structure, one free of redundancy and supprtive of data integrity.
- Object-Oriented Database.
- A database structure that organizes, manipulates, and retrieves
classes of objects, such as sound, video, text, and graphic files.
- Data Mining.
- Analyzing data to discover patterns and relationships that are important
to decision making.
- Database Server.
- A database program on a local area network, utilized with client
programs (such as MS Access) by multiple users.
- Structured Query Language.
- Language enabling simple or complex requests for data in a form
understandable by servers.
- Web-Database Integration.
- A variety of techniques used to make database information available
on the Internet.
- Computerized Information Systems.
- A collection of computer personnel, components, and procedures used
and designed to provide services, collect, process, and store data,
and desseminates information.
- Point-of-Sale (POS) System.
- A computerized system that records items purchased at a cash register
(often using an optical scanner) and calculates the total amount due
for each sale. POS terminals can be integrated with credit card authorization
systems and databases tracking inventory, sales trends, and customer
purchasing patterns.
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