The impact of database technology on business cannot be overstated. Not only has it changed the way
almost every industry conducts business, but it has also created an information industry with
far-reaching effects on both our business and personal lives. Databases are behind the successful use of
automatic teller machines, increased efficiency in retail stores, almost every marketing effort, and the
numerous online search engines and web-based businesses. Combined with interactive Web pages on
the Internet, databases have made an immense contribution to commerce. Without them, there would
be no online banking, no online consumer catalogs, no online searches for information, no online stock
brokerages, and no online chat rooms. Their impact on business has allowed fewer people to complete
larger tasks, and their power has allowed organizations to learn more about us, as consumers, than we
might realize. Imagine: every time you enter the address of a Web site, a special program performs a
search in a huge database and matches your request with one of millions of addresses. Every time you
fill out an online form with details such as your address, phone number, Social Security number
(SSN), or credit-card number, a program feeds the data into a database, where each item is recorded
for further use.
PTS: 1 REF: 233
2. Discuss the security issues concerning databases.
ANS:
The use of databases raises security and privacy issues. The fact that data is stored only once in a
database for several different purposes does not mean that everyone with access to that database
should have access to all the data in it. Restricting access is easily dealt with by customizing menus for
different users and requiring users to enter codes that limit access to certain fields or records. As a
result, users have different views of the database.The ability to limit users’ views to only specific
columns or records gives the database administrator (DBA) another advantage: the ability to
implement security measures. The measures are implemented once for the database, rather than
multiple times for different files. For instance, while a human resource manager has access to all fields
of the employee file, the payroll personnel have access only to four fields of the employee file, and a
project manager has access only to the Name and Hours Worked fields. Views can be limited to
certain fields in a database, or certain records, or a combination of both.
PTS: 1 REF: 237
3. What are the main features of maintenance of a relational database?
ANS:
Maintenance of a relational database is relatively easy because each table is independent of the others,
although some tables are related to others. To add a customer record, the user accesses the Customer
table. To delete a record of a DVD, the user accesses the DVD table. The advantages of this model
makes relational database management systems the most popular in the software market. Virtually all
DBMSs currently on the market accommodate the relational model. This model is used in supply chain
management (SCM) systems and many other enterprise applications and local, individual ISs.
PTS: 1 REF: 239
4. What are the advantages to integrating SQL in a DBMS?
ANS:
There are several advantages to integrating SQL in a DBMS:
• With a standard language, users do not have to learn different sets of commands to create and
manipulate databases in different DBMSs.