A database management system, or DBMS, is software designed to assist in
maintaining and utilizing large collections of data, and the need for such systems, as
well as their use, is growing rapidly. The alternative to using a DBMS is to use adhoc approaches that do not carry over from one application to another; for example,
to store the data in files and write application-specific code to manage it. The use of
a DBMS has several important advantages