Data Models

The Evolution of Database Modeling

The various data models that came before the relational database model (such as the hierarchical database model and the network database model) were partial solutions to the never-ending problem of how to store data and how to do it efficiently. The relational database model is currently the best solution for both storage and retrieval of data. Examining the relational database model from its roots can help to understand critical problems the relational database model is used to solve; therefore, it is essential to understand how the different data models evolved into the relational database model as it is today.

The evolution of database modeling occurred when each database model improved upon the previous one. The initial solution was no virtually database model at all: the file system (also known as flat files). The file system is the operating system. Files can be examined in the file system of the operating system by running a dir command in DOS, an ls command in UNIX, or searching through the Windows Explorer in Microsoft Windows. The problem that using a file system presents is no database structure at all. Figure 1-3 shows that evolutionary process over time from around the late 1940s through and beyond the turn of the millennium, 50 years later. It is very unlikely that network and hierarchical databases are still in use.

Hierarchical model The term Hierarchical model covers a broad concept spectrum it often refers to a lot of set ups like multi-level models where there are various levels of information or data all related be some larger form. it is similar to the network model. A kind of database management system that links record together like a family tree such that each record type has only one owner The hierarchical data model organizes data in a tree structure .there is a hierarchy of parent and child data segments .this structure implies that a record can have repeating information generally in the child data segments. Data in a series of records which have a set of field values attached to it . It collects all the instances of a specific record together to it .it collects all the instances of a specific record together as a record type. To create links between these record types, the hierarchical model uses parent child relationships. There are 1:N mapping between record types. This is done by using trees, likes set theory used in the relational model borrowed from maths. For example an organization might store information about an employee such as name, employee number, department, salary and also might store information about an employees children, such as name and date of birth The employee and children data forms a hierarchy, where the employee data represents the parent segment and the children data represents the child segment. if an employee has four children , then there would be four child segments associated with one employee segment . in a hierarchical database the parent child relationship is one to many . this restricts a child segment to having only one parent segment.

Advantages and disadvantages of hierarchical database -Hierarchical database are fast and conceptually simple however do not support many to many relationships and have a lack of referential integrity

Network model Network models still the most important of the special structures in linear programming. We examine the characteristics of network models, formulate some examples of these models and gives one approach to their solution. Also discussed about the advantages and disadvantages of the network models

(Charles W Bachman 2008) Network models is a database model conceived as a flexible way of representing objects and their relationship

The popularity of the network data model coincided with the popularity of the hierarchical data model. Some data were more naturally model with more than one parent per child, so the network model permitted the modeling of many to many relationships in data. Also (CODASYL 1971) formally defined the network model and is based on mathematical set theory, A set consists of an owner record type, a set name and a member record type. A member record type can have that role in more than one set, hence the multi parent concept is supported.

An owner record type can also be a member or owner in another set. Thus the complete network of relationships is represented by several pair wise sets, in each set some (one) record type is owner and one or more record types are members, a set defines a 1:M relationship, although 1:1 is permitted This model organizes data using two fundamental constructs called records and sets.

More also, Conference on data systems languages (CODASYL 1971) created the data base task group to explore and design a method to replace the hierarchical model, the network model solves the problem of data redundancy by representing relationships in terms of sets rather than hierarchy. It very similar to the hierarchical model infant the hierarchical model is a subset of the network model

Advantages and Disadvantages of Network model Its provide very efficient High Speed retrieval The network model can handle the one many and many to many relationships In the network database terminology a relationship is a set. Each set comprises of two types of records, an owner record and a member record, in a network model an application can access an owner record and the member records within a set In a network model, no member can exist without an owner. A user must therefore first define the owner record and then the member record. This ensures the integrity

The network model draws a clear line of demarcation between programs and complex physical storage details. The application programs work independently of the data, any changes made in the data characteristics do not affect the application program

Disadvantages In a network model, data are accessed one record at a time. This makes it essential for the database designers, administrators and programmers to be familiar with the internal data structures to gain access to the data .therefore, a user friendly database management system cannot be created using the network model.

Also, making structure modifications to the database is very difficult in the network database model as the data access method is navigational. Any changes made to the database structure require the application programs to be modified before they can access data through the network model achieves data independence, it still fails to achieve structural independence.

Relational model As stated by (E.F Codd 1969), A relational database allows the definition of data structures, storage and retrieval operations and integrity constraints. Relational model is a data base model based on first order predicate logic. The relational model used the basic concept of a relation or table .the column or fields in the table identify the attributes such as name, age; also a tuple or row contains all the data of a single instance of the table such as a person. In the relational model every tuple must have a unique identification or key based on the data. Often, keys are used to join data from two or more relations based on matching identification. The relational model also includes concepts such as foreign keys, which are primary keys in one relation that re kept in another relation to allow for the joining of data. For examples- your parents SSN are keys for the tuplets that represent them and they are foreign keys in the tuple that represents you

more also ,certain fields may be designated as keys, which means that searches for specific values of that field will use indexing to speed them up .where fields in two different tables take values from the same set, a join operation can be performed to select related records in the two tables by matching values in those tables .for examples an orders table might contain

customer-lD, (product-code) pairs and a products table might contain (product-code price) pairs so to calculate a given customers bill you would sum the prices of all products ordered by that customer by joining on the product code fields of the two tables

Advantages Ease for use, Flexibility: Different tables from which information has to be linked and extracted can be easily manipulated by operators such as project and join to give information in the form in which it is desired Security control and authorization can also be implemented more easily by moving sensitive attributes in a given table into a separate relation with its own authorization controls

Disadvantages A major constraint and disadvantages in the use of relational database system is machine performance. If the number of tables between which relationships to be established are large and the tables are voluminous, the performance in responding to queries is definitely degraded.

Object/Relational Model Object/Relational model is a database management system (DBMS) similar to a relational database, but with an object-oriented database model: objects, classes and inheritance are directly supported in data schemas and in the query language. The object-relational model is designed to provide a relational database management that allows developers to integrate databases with their data types and methods. It is essentially a relational model that allows users to integrate object-oriented features into it. This design is most recently shown in the Nordic Object/Relational Model. The primary function of this new object-relational model is to more power, greater flexibility, better performance, and greater data integrity then those that came before it. In addition, it supports extension of the data model with custom data types and methods.

Some of the benefits that are offered by the Object-Relational Model include:

It allows users to define new data types that combine one or more of the currently existing data types. Complex types aid in better flexibility in organizing the data on a structure made up of columns and tables

Users are able to define objects or types and tables that procure the properties of other objects, as well as add new properties that are specific to the object that has been defined.

Users are able to extend the capability of the database server

Object Oriented Model

Object Oriented model is a modeling paradigm mainly used in computer programming. Prior to the rise of OOM, the dominant paradigm was procedural programming, which emphasized the use of discreet reusable code blocks that could stand on their own, take variables, perform a function on them, and return values. According to Rao (1994), "The object-oriented database (OODB) paradigm is the combination of object-oriented programming language (OOPL) systems and persistent systems. The power of the OODB comes from the seamless treatment of both persistent data, as found in databases, and transient data, as found in executing programs." In contrast to a relational DBMS where a complex data structure must be flattened out to fit into tables or joined together from those tables to form the in-memory structure, object DBMSs have no performance overhead to store or retrieve a web or hierarchy of interrelated objects.

It has some advantages such as reuse of code , better structured programs and easier transition from analysis to implementation

TYPES OF DATABASES

Basically there are two types of databases, which are analytical databases and operational databases.

ANALYTICAL DATABASE An analytic database, also called an analytical database, is a read-only system that stores historical data on business metrics such as sales performance and inventory levels. Business analysts, corporate executives and other workers can run queries and reports against an analytic database. An analytical database system provides access to all of the data collected by an entity in interactive time. The analytical database system transforms relational database data. An analytic database is specifically designed to support business intelligence (BI) and analytic applications, typically as part of a data warehouse or data mart. This differentiates it from an operational, transactional or OLTP database, which is used for transaction processing i.e., order entry and other run the business applications.

On the web you will often see analytic databases in the form of inventory catalogs such as Amazon.com; it usually holds descriptive information about all available products in the inventory. Analytical databases also called OLAP (on line analytical processing)

OPERATIONAL DATABASE

Operational Database is the database-of-record, consisting of system-specific reference data and event data belonging to a transaction-update system. It may also contain system control data such as indicators, flags, and counters. The operational database is the source of data for the data warehouse. It contains detailed data used to run the day-to-day operations of the business. The data continually changes as updates are made, and reflect the current value of the last transaction. An operational database, as the name implies, is the database that is currently and progressive in use capturing real time data and supplying data for real time computations and other analyzing processes. For example, an operational database is the one which used for taking order and fulfilling them in a store whether it is a traditional store or an online store. Other areas in business that use an operational database is in a catalog fulfillment system any other Point of Sale system

which is used in retail stores. An operational database is used for keeping track of payments and inventory. It takes information and amounts from credit cards and accountants use the operational database because it must balance up to the last penny. Operational databases also called OLTP (on line transaction processing)

CONTRIBUTION TO DATABASE DEVELOPMENT

Global events and competition affects almost all modern businesses and organizations are increasingly facing challenges as a result of the ever changing technologies in the world. The economic and political linkages involving the migration of money, products and people across national boundaries together with ideas and values have increased the pace of change, ambiguity, uncertainty and unpredictability in the contemporary business world. The advanced of technology such as the use of internet through utilization of database management systems, the world has increasingly become a global village. The use of data base management systems has boosted the activities in the modern business world .The systems are designed to hold or store large amount of information. It has also been utilized in leaning institution where by any information for every student is stored and can easily retrieved when required.

For example, if a student is engaged in bad activities parents can be traced easily because the information regarding to that student can easily be retrieved from his/her detains that he/she filled on the registration. Another example of database management systems use is that of booking tickets by travellers, it gives opportunity to travellers to book in advance and when there is date of departure , there record can easily be retrieved with ease and with less time Finally, we can not only attribute globalization to development of database management system but also to development of new technologies within any organization in a country. The witnessing of technology transformation alongside with alternations experienced in the trading environment has led to a reconsideration of fundamental archival assumptions, thought and methods. The use of spreadsheets in storing and retrieving information has led to a lot of deficiencies such as spending longer hours in retrieving the information and limited storage of

information space, but with the use of DBMS is an efficient way of keeping such information because it captures nearly all trading dealings, safeguard complete records and completely acknowledging proceedings or records within the organization (Broverman and croft, 1985)

2) PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVE OF AN ORGANISATION FOR THE USE OF DATA WAREHOUSING AND DATA MINING DATA WAREHOUSING

A data warehouse is a type of computer database that is responsible for collecting and storing the information of a particular organization. The goal of using a data warehouse is to have an efficient way of managing information and analyzing data. A data warehouse is a database with archival, querying and data exploration tools (i.e statistical tools) and is used for storing historical and current data of potential interest to managers throughout the organization. The data originate in many of the operational areas and are copied into the data warehouse as often as needed. The data in the warehouse are organized according to company wide standards so that they can be used for management reporting and analysis .data warehouses support looking at the data of the organization through many views or directions. A data warehouse allows managers to look at products by customer, by year, by salesperson, essentially different slices of the data. Also, A data warehouse is a tool that is constructed to give a specific view of data that an organization or company can gather during the course of carrying out various processes. Data warehouses are useful because they can allow a company to give managers and executives crucial information that will allow them to make better decisions.

Although, data warehousing is a promising technology it can become problematic for companies that fail to use core principles. Finally, to having a proper design, data warehouse must be properly maintained and implemented.

DATA MINING Data mining can be defined (Senthil and Paul 2010) as the amount of data on collected by organization grows by leaps and bounds. It is a way to gain market intelligence from this huge amount of data.

Data mining is largely used in several applications such as understanding consumer research marketing, product analysis, demand and supply analysis, e-commerce and

telecommunication. It is based on mathematical algorithms and analytical skills to drive the desired results from the huge database collection. Also benefits to a different organization including marketing, healthcare, transportation and insurance. Data mining, also known as "knowledge discovery," refers to computer-assisted tools and techniques for sifting through and analyzing these vast data stores in order to find trends, patterns, and correlations that can guide decision making and increase understanding. Data mining covers a wide variety of uses, from analyzing customer purchases to discovering galaxies. In essence, data mining is the equivalent of finding gold nuggets in a mountain of data. The monumental task of finding hidden gold depends heavily upon the power of computers. In summary, the purpose of DM is to analyze and understand past trends and predict future trends. By predicting future trends, business organizations can better position their products and services for financial gain. Nonprofit organizations have also achieved significant benefits from data mining, such as in the area of scientific progress. The concept of data mining is simple yet powerful. The simplicity of the concept is deceiving, however. Traditional methods of analyzing data, involving query-and-report approaches, cannot handle tasks of such magnitude and complexity. Traditionally, associations have used commonly accepted market research

techniques such as surveys and focus groups to collect information on member needs and to guide the development of business strategy. Association Laboratory currently provides these services as a core product in response to this market need. Data mining is a relatively new technique designed to leverage an organizations data to increase the accuracy of assumptions on member and customer behavior. This improves the effectiveness of the associations marketing and other strategies. Since the widespread adoption of computer technology during the 1990s, many associations have created databases containing extensive information on member behavior. Examples of commonly monitored behaviors include conference registrations, volunteer participation and membership renewal. In addition, marketing specialists and statisticians have developed new techniques to extract predictive information from large databases. These new techniques allow for the analysis of extremely large amounts of data that otherwise would not have been possible. Common uses of these techniques were the analysis of large credit card databases to determine spending patterns of specific customer segments. The convergence of the existence of this behavioral data with these new techniques for analysis has created a tremendous opportunity for associations to implement data mining.

Conclusion, Data warehousing and data mining has been successful in the realm of customer relationship management. By utilizing a data warehouse, a retailers can embank on customer specific strategies like customer profiling , customer segmentation and cross selling. Data mining has also been in health care and acute care and also data mining are used for prediction, although according to (scheier 2006) why data mining for use in such a situation will fail because ,for example prediction of terrorist acts. Terrorist acts have no well-defined profile and attacks are very rare, these facts mean that data mining systems wont uncover any terrorist plots until they are very accurate.