Demystifying Databases : A Hands-on Guide for Database Management

Contents: Preface. 1. Database: an overview. 2. Architecture of database. 3. Indigenous databases in libraries. 4. Types of databases. 5. Information retrieval from databases. 6. Growth and development of databases. 7. Linguistics in databases. 8. Marketing of information and databases. 9. Database and web application. 10. Online database services worldwide. Index.

"In the age of Information Technology (IT), the databases have evolved into a classic component of computing degrees. Through an analysis of its unique characteristics, evolving role, and historical precedents, it is visible that databases\' strategic importance is growing, as many have claimed or assumed, but diminishing. As databases have become more powerful, more standardized, and more affordable, it has been transformed from a proprietary technology that companies can use to gain an edge over their rivals into an infrastructural technology that is shared by all competitors. Databases have increasingly become, in other words, a simple factor of production--a commodity input that is necessary for competitiveness but insufficient for information advantage. The subject has become well supported by a wealth of research, exceptional industrial experience and numerous books covering a wide range of topics. This book presents the concepts for design and implementation of modern databases. An analytical approach is followed so that the concepts learned can be applied not only to the wide variety of databases that exist today but can also be used to build systems for the future. This book provides emphasis on design and the formalization databases. The conceptual, mathematical and practical aspects are stressed. Naturally, the book does not aspire to cover all aspects of databases nor does it pretend to present the relational theory in its entirety. The primary objective of this book is to present a reasonably comprehensive explanation of the process of the development of database application systems within the framework of the set processing paradigm."