Database Management Systems#

Database management systems are the software tools that we use to manage databases. They can help visualise the structure of the database, view and edit data, and build queries and reports.

Some software tools are specific to the database, for example:

  • pgAdmin is used for Postgres

  • MySQL Workbench for MySQL

Because of the common standard of Structured Query Language (SQL) there are tools can be used across different database implementations.

Data vs Information#

The distinction between data and information informs why we use databases instead of unstructured data-lakes.

Data and information

Flat File vs Relational Databases#

Flat file databases are familiar to us as tables of data in spreadsheets or data summaries. Relational databases seek to bring guarantees of data integrity to these collections of information.

Flat File vs Relational Database

RDBMS#

Relational database management systems assist and automate the maintenance and interrogation of these structured data sources.