外文翻译-数据库管理系统—剖析

Database Management System

Source：Database and Network Journal

Author：David Anderson

You know that a data is a collection of logically related data elements that may be structured in various ways to meet the multiple processing and retrieval needs of orga nizations and individuals. There’s nothing new about data base-early ones were chiseled in stone, penned on scrolls, and written on index cards. But now database are commonly recorded on magnetically media, and computer programs are required to perform the necessary storage and retrieval operations.

The system software package that handles the difficult tasks associated with created, accessing, and maintaining database records is in a DBMS package establish an interface between the database itself and the users of the database. (These users may be applications programmers, managers and others with information needs, and various OS programmers.)

A DBMS can organize, process, and present selected data elements from the database. This capability enables decision makers to search. Probe, and query data contents in order to extract answers to nonrecurring and unplanned questions that aren’t available in regular reports. These questions might initially be vague and/or poorly defined, but people can “browse” through the database until they have the needed information. In short, the DBMS will “manage” the stored data items and assemble the needed items from the common database in response to the queries of those who aren’t programmers. In a file-oriented system, users needing special information may communicate their needs to a programmers, who, when time permits, will information. The availability of a DBMS, however, offers users a much faster alternative communications patch (see figure).

Special, direct, and other file processing approaches ate used to organize and structure data in single files. But a DBMS is able to integrate data elements from several files to answer specific user inquiries fir information. This means that the DBMS is able to structure and tie together the logically related data from several large files.

Logical structures. Identifying these logical relationships is a job of the data administrator. A data definition language is used for this purpose. The DBMS may

then

Employ one of the following logical structuring techniques during storage access, and retrieval operation: list structures, hierarchical (tree) structures, and network structures, relational structures.

1. List structures. In this logical approach, records are linked together by the use of pointers. A pointer is a data item in one record that identifies the storage location of another logically related record. Records in a customer master file, for example, will contain the name and address of each customer, and an account number identifies each record in this file. During an accounting period, a customer may maintain an invoice file to reflect these transactions. A list structure could be used in this situation to show the unpaid invoices at any given time. Each in the customer file would point to the record location of the first invoice for that customer in the invoice file. This invoice record, in turn would be linked to later invoice for the customer. The last invoice in the chain would be identified by the use of a special character as a pointer.

2. Hierarchical structures. In this logical approach, data units are structured in multiple levels that graphically resemble an “upside down” tree with the root at the top and the branches formed below, there’s a superior-subordinate relationship in a hierarchical structure. Below the single-root data component are subordinate elements (or one) has only a single owner. Thus, as we see in figure, a customer owns an invoice, and the invoice has subordinate items. The branches in a tree structure are not connected.

3. Network structures. Unlike the tree approach, which dose not permit the connection of branches, the network structure permits the connection of the nodes in a multidirectional manner. Thus, each node may have several owners and may, in turn, own any number of other data units. Data, management software permits the extraction of the needed information from such a structure by beginning with any record in a file.

4. Relational structures. A relational structure is made up of many tables. The data are stored in the form of “relations” in these tables. For example, relation tables could be established to link a college course with the instructor of the course, and with the location of the in order to find the name of the instructor and the location of the English class, the course/instructor relation is searched to get the name, and the course/location relation is searched to get the class location. Many other relations are of course, possible. This is a relatively new database structuring approach that’s