Database management is a method of managing information that supports a business’s operations. It includes data storage, distributing it to users and application programs and modifying it as needed as well as monitoring changes to the data and preventing the data from becoming corrupted by unexpected failures. It is an integral part of the entire informational infrastructure of a company that supports decision making, corporate growth, and compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

In the 1960s, Charles Bachman and IBM among others developed the first database systems. They evolved into information management systems (IMS), which allowed huge amounts of data to be stored and retrieved for a variety of purposes. From calculating inventory, to aiding complex financial accounting functions and human resource functions.

A database is a set of tables that store data according to some pattern, for example, one-to-many relationships. It makes use of primary keys to identify records and allow cross-references between tables. Each table has a set of fields, called attributes, that contain information about the entities that comprise the data. Relational models, developed by E. F. “Ted” Codd in the 1970s at IBM, are the most popular database type in the present. The design is based on normalizing the data, making it more easy to use. It is also theoldcoach.com easier to update data because it does not require changing several databases.

Most DBMSs can support multiple database types by providing different levels of external and internal organization. The internal level is concerned with cost, scalability and other operational issues including the layout of the physical storage. The external level is the representation of the database in user interfaces and applications. It could comprise a mix of different external views based on different data models. It may include virtual table that are calculated using generic data in order to improve the performance.