Databases are a collection of files holding related data.

Almost anything can be viewed as a database.

Goal of database management systems is to provide a convenient and efficient way to search/store/ and manipulate.

• history:
• database uses:
• tools

application programmer job gets easier - database management system is harder to make (more intelligent).

application programmers jobs will go away as databases make everything easier.

There are 3 views of databases:

• external view seen by user, could be multiple views
• conceptual view, relates application to DBMS, seen by application programmer, defined by database makers
• internal view, how data is actually stored. Defined to optimize conceptual view.

source psfile jl@crush.caltech.edu index relational_database_design data_manipulation_language distributed_data_base database_history database_use DBMS