Skip to main content

Difference between a Database and DBMS

By
Just finished my training and certification exam for an IBM academic evangelist. The training covered database fundamentals and DB2. There were other topics covered relating to databases and database management systems like SQL and XML, but I'd like to put more emphasis on database and DBMS or Database Management Systems. Although I have been practicing as a software developer and IT instructor, I have never taken any particular detail to the theories and concepts of databases, much more handle such subjects. The training refreshed me with what I learned in college as well as given me more information about databases and DBMSs. Here are a few things that I've re-learned (because apparently, I forgot or I did not learn at all):


  1. Database in a general point of view refers to any data repository. It can be a software. It provides an interface to access DATA. 
  2. DBMS or Database Management System is a software system. Whereas database provides a way to access data, DBMS provides a way to manage databases. I have been too accustomed to using the terms database and DBMS interchangeably which is widely accepted but not necessarily correct.
  3. SQL was originally invented by IBM. I have been using SQL in different DBMSs and I did not know that it was invented by IBM which made me think that IBM is no where in the competition for software. 
  4. DB2 is from IBM
  5. DB2 is the second in the market for DBMS. I have been working on software projects that use only free databases such as Firebird and MySQL. I have also worked on an Oracle database as well as MS SQL Server. I never researched about market share for these DBMSs and I thought that Oracle was first in line (which is still true) and followed by Microsoft's SQL Server (it turns out that this is the third in the line), then followed by others. 
  6. DB2 now has a free version for academic use. I always thought that DB2 was unpopular (at least in our place) because only a few can afford it and if anyone can afford it, they would opt to use Oracle or MS SQL instead.
There are a lot more misconceptions that I had which are now corrected, and I am very thankful that I went under this training.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adding a Footer to the DataGridView component

By
I have been searching for sites and forums that would give me a any hint on having a footer on the .net DataGridView control. It was frustrating. I found some, but not what I was looking for. I use windows forms. It would have been easier if I was into web. I decided to create one for myself. It's not complete, but it works with me. It needs improvement and I hope that some programmers who might pass through this blog will help me with it :D. Limitations: Cannot set Footer values during design time. Can sometimes hide a row when scrolled to the last item in the grid. What I did was just create a user control that inherits the DataGridView control and add a StatusStrip to act as the footer. public partial class MyDataGridView : DataGridView { public StatusStrip Footer { get { return (StatusStrip)this.Controls["Footer"]; } } private bool _footerVisible; [Browsable(false)] /// /// Sets or Gets the va...
1 comment
Read more

Using Crystal Reports 10 with C#.net and Firebird

By
C# express doesn't include a report designer or viewer. Reports however, is very much needed when creating a business software. Since C# express doesn't include a report designer, we need to find other means. One is to use a free report such as MyNeoReport. This however may not work under many circumstances. The other alternative would be to use a proven report engine and designer-Crystal Report. Crystal Report has been used by many developers (in our city). However, using a free programming language and IDE, and a free database is very limiting. Not much information can be gathered on the net either (with regards to reporting as of this writing). Here's a way to use Crystal Reports using Firebird database and C# Express as software development IDE: Pre-requisites: C# Express 2005 EMS SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase & Firebird Lite Crystal Reports 10 Create the following database: Name: TestDB1 Tables: TESTTABLE1 Columns:  ID - PK, INTEGER,AUTOINCREMENT DES...
6 comments
Read more

Open a Lenovo 3000 G410 Battery

By
One of the common problems with laptops is the deteriorating performance of its battery. Laptop batteries are made up of Lithium Ion (Li-ion). I have a laptop that is more than a year old. Last week, its battery went totally dead. I'm still looking for a replacement. I'm very careful in finding one because most cheap alternatives are poor in performance (with only 45 mins up time compared to the original 3-4 hours). Some are overly priced. I now have a prospect seller and will be purchasing after this post. Well, to continue, out of my curiosity, I opened the battery. The laptop is a Lenovo 3000 G410. Before my exploration, I took the specifications of the battery. It turned out that it's manufactured by SANYO. Here are the specifications: Battery name: PABAS024 Unique ID: 3658QSANYO PABAS024 Chemistry: LION I really don't have any knowledge about the hardware. All I know is that it can be charged and discharged. Despite my limited knowledge, I still opened it up ...
Post a Comment
Read more