Notes on database management systems

摘要

We are constantly reminded by the media of the vast amounts of information available to be collected, managed, analyzed, and applied to problems in all aspects of our lives. Along with the media coverage there is much talk about all the data we should access, manage, and utilize. However, there is not a commensurate understanding of the procedures involved or of the tools necessary and available for accomplishing these tasks. Managed data can be as simple as a record of household expenditures or as complex as a physical, chemical, and hydro-geological profile of a river basin. Regardless of the amount or the nature of the data, the principles underlying the process and the tools for accomplishing the task are the same. Before be ginning any discussion of data management and analysis,it is necessary to understand the basic concepts of data management in order to establish a firm and stable foundation for drawing conclusions from the data.