The Database Management Approach
Using databases eliminates many problems that arose from previous methods of storing and accessing data. Databases are arranged so that one set of software programs—the database management system-—provides all users with access to all the data. (We discuss database management systems later in this chapter.) This system minimizes the following problems: x Data redundancy: The same data are stored in many places. x Data Isolation: Applications cannot access data associated with other applications. x Data Inconsistency: Various copies of the data do not agree.
In addition, database systems maximize the following issues: x Data security: Because data are essential to organizations, databases have extremely high security measures in place to deter mistakes and attacks. x Data integrity: Data meet certain constraints, such as no alphabetic characters in a Social Security Number field. x Data Independence: Applications and data are independent of one another (that is, applications and data are not linked to each other, meaning that all applications are able to access the same data).