The ORACLE or Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine, an early computer

built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was based on the IAS architecture devel
oped by John von Neumann. As with all computers of its era, it was a one of a ki
nd machine that could not exchange programs with other computers (even other IAS
machines). It used vacuum tubes, transistors, and diodes. It used a Williams tu
be for 2048 words of memory. Its addition time was 70 microseconds, the multipli
cation time was 370-590 microseconds, and the division time was 590 microseconds
. These times include the storage access time, which was about 62 microseconds.

Introduction
Types of Databases
Evolution of DBMS
Data Definitions
Data Security
Audit Trails

INTRODUCTION
A database management system (DBMS) is system software used to manage the organi
zation, storage, access, security and integrity of data in a structured database
. The nature of database management systems has dramatically since the 1960 as t
he demand for data storage has increased and the technology to store data has pl
ummeted.
This website provides a high level introduction to DBMS technology. It explains
why businesses need DBMS software and what it does. It also provides some usef
ul reference materials for IT professional and business people wishing to learn
more about this important technology and introduces the most widely used DBMS pa
ckages.
A database can be a set of flat files stored on computer tape or disk or it coul
d consist of database tables that are managed by a Database Management System (D
BMS).
TYPES OF DBMS
There are different types of DBMS products: relational, network and hierarchical
. The most widely commonly used type of DBMS today is the Relational Database Ma
nagement Systems (RDBMS).
Some Data Base Management Systems can be accessed directly using programming lan
guages such as COBOL while others provide their own programming language for int
eracting with the database. Many DBMS applications also provide reporting and qu
ery tools to view data in the database.
Evolution of DBMS
A Guide to Database Management Systems

In the early days of computing, disk storage was extremely expensive. Most appl
ication systems ran in batch mode using data that was stored on magnetic tape. D
ata had to be read sequentially from flat files. For performance reasons, the m
anagement of data was tightly integrated with the application system.
As the cost of disk storage fell, opportunities to store data for real-time acce
ss arose. Specialized DBMS software emerged during the 1960s for the sole purpo
se of managing data. Application systems were then able to focus on the user in
terface, screen navigation, data validations etc. and could leave the data manag
ement tasks to the specialized DBMS technology. The application system simply h
ad to call the DBMS when it needed to read or store data.
The early DBMS systems required that data be structured if a manner that was con
ducive to how it would be stored and/or accessed. Data was stored in database r
ecords that were linked to related data via "pointers". (i.e. hierarchical and n
etwork databases). Although speed of access was good, flexible access to data w
as not.
As the cost of data storage fell, it became feasible to store data in tables. T
his eliminated much data redundancy and provided much more flexible data access.
Most DBMS databases today are relational.

DATA DEFINITIONS
One very important role of a database management system is to maintain the data
definitions for each table and columns in the database. Each piece of data must
be assigned a name, a data type (e.g. date, alphanumeric, numeric) and a mandat
ory/optional status. Most DBMS packages will enforce these rules when rows are
added to the database. DBMS packages can also enforce domain rules. For exampl
e, a domains for marital status, state codes or country codes could be defined t
o ensure that only valid values are stored.
Most DBMS software will also enforce cardinality and optionality rules that gove
rn relationships between things of interest (i.e. tables). Examples of such rul
es are as follows:
Each customer may have zero, one or many orders.
An order must be initiated by one and only one customer.
An order must have one or many order items.
When rows are deleted from the database, the DBMS will ensure that all dependent
rows are also deleted, leaving the database in a stable state. For example, if
an order is deleted, the DBMS would ensure that all related order items are als
o deleted. Enforcing referential integrity rules is an important role of databa
se management systems.
DATA SECURITY
Another important role of a Database Management System is to enforce data securi
ty. Based on the assigned roles of users, a DBMS system can ensure that a given
user only has read and/or update access to appropriate columns in the database.
This ensure that private data such as salary information is only accessible to
the appropriate parties.
Data access can be restricted via database "views" that filter out sensitive dat
a and by other means.
AUDIT TRAILS
Many DBMS applications can track changes made to tables in the database. Along
with the prior version of the data, the DBMS will record the identify of the per
son who altered the data.
Maintaining audit trails on important data is another important role for databas
e management systems.
DB2 DBMS
DB2 is a relational database management system that was introduced by IBM in 198
3. The product was initially developed to run on the MVS operating system. A
distributed version of DB2 was then released on OS/2 in 1987. Today DB2 is wide
ly used by large organizations and can run on wide variety of UNIX, Linux and Wi
ndows platforms.
IBM markets different "editions" DB2 with different licensing arrangements. The
cost of ownership therefore is based on the options that are needed. DB2 Editio
ns include the following:
DB2Workgroup
DB2 Workgroup Unlimited
DB2 Enterprise Server Edition
DB2 UDB Data Warehouse Enterprise Edition (DWE)
The DB2 UDB Data Warehouse Enterprise Edition includes business intelligence cap
abilities such as ET, data mining and online analytics.
DB2 has APIs for many languages including the following:
.NET
CLI
Java
Python
Perl
PHP
C++
C
REXX
PL/1
Cobol
RPG
Fortran

MS ACCESS DBMS

Microsoft Access 2003 is a low cost relational database management system (RDBMS
) used mainly by home users and small businesses with one or two system users.
It can run on a personal computer or server and provides an easy-to-use interfac
e for designing simple databases, reports and data entry forms.
The current version of MS Access allows you to save, read, and interchange data
in XML format. The DBMS also has good ODBC capabilities (for connecting to other
data sources) and can grab data from external databases and spreadsheets.
Microsoft provides a wizard to replicate an MS Access database to Microsoft SQL
Server.
Microsoft Access 2003 can be purchases separately or as part of the Microsoft Of
fice 2003 Professional Edition.

MySQL DBMS
Microsoft Access 2003 is a low cost relational database management system (RDBMS
) used mainly by home users and small businesses with one or two system users.
It can run on a personal computer or server and provides an easy-to-use interfac
e for designing simple databases, reports and data entry forms.
The current version of MS Access allows you to save, read, and interchange data
in XML format. The DBMS also has good ODBC capabilities (for connecting to other
data sources) and can grab data from external databases and spreadsheets.
Microsoft provides a wizard to replicate an MS Access database to Microsoft SQL
Server.
Microsoft Access 2003 can be purchases separately or as part of the Microsoft Of
fice 2003 Professional Edition.

ORACLE DBMS

The Oracle Corporation launched its first commercial SQL relational database man
agement systems in 1979. The DBMS runs on Unix, Linux and Windows platforms and
is widely used around the world.
Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company and sells many applica
tions system packages that run on its Oracle database. In late 2005, the compan
y purchased PeopleSoft and rights to its CRM, Purchasing, Financials, Human Reso
urce, Supply Chain Management software packages.

SQL SERVER DBMS

Microsoft's SQL Server is a relational database management system that initiall

y was targeted at small and medium sized businesses. Today, many large corporat
ion are using it for their enterprise information needs. The first version of S
QL Server was launched in 1989.
The current version of this DBMS is Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (alias Yukon). In
addition to providing database management functionality, the toolset includes E
TL (extra, transform, load) functionality for data warehousing applications and
an OLAP tool (Online Analytics).
The SQL Server 2005 DBMS provides a secure, reliable, scalable, highly available
relational database engine with improved performance and support for structured
and unstructured (XML) data.
A light version of SQL Server called SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is also ava
ilable.

COMPARISIONS

The Transaction Processing Performance Council:-

The Transaction Processing Performance Council defines transaction processing an
d database benchmarks and delivers trusted results to the industry.
Migrating from Microsoft Access to MySQL:-
This article compares MS Access with MySQL and outlines some strategies for movi
ng your data from Access to MySQL.