The amount of information we are surrounded with is literally exploding every single day and there is an immediate need to organise all these data. Database Management System (DBMS) extract information from millions of facts or data stored in a database. As the need for maintenance increased the demand for DBMS also increased.
So, let us know some interesting things about DBMS:
- Did you ever notice that all the letters of the word database are typed with the left hand?
Interesting right? Now, the layout of QWERTY keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the better use of both the hands. Therefore, it pretty much follows that writing about databases is not only unnatural, but also a lot harder than it seems.
- DBMS are not a new concept and as such it has been first implemented in 1960’s. Charles Bachmen’s Integrated Data Store (IDS) is said to be the first DBMS in history.
The following flow graph depicts the evolution of various types of DBMS:
- In the mid 1960’s IBM used a hierarchical model for their Information Management System (IMS). It used a tree like structure with parent nodes pointing to child nodes. And it was successfully used by NASA to manage drawings for the lunar lander.
- Later a more flexible, network model was developed by Charles Bachmen. Now, child nodes can have multiple parents. But as the databases got complicated, it became too hard to maintain and manage all those pointers.
- Then in 1970, a computer scientist at IBM, named Ted Codd, proposed his Relational model. In this he organized a body of data into simple tables of related information. There were no pointers because tables are connected only by having matching data fields.
- Then we had the SQL or Structured Query Language, pronounced as ‘S-Q-L’ or ‘See-Quell’. It became the standard language to deal with relational databases.
My SQL was founded by a Swedish company MySQL AB in 1995 and is the most widely used open source RDBMS.
- In 1975, IBM produced an experimental relational database known as ‘System R’. It used SQL.
- Oracle was launched in 1980. This is the first most popular relational DBMS which gradually edged out earlier mainframe products such as IMS.
Now the DBMS technology is found in almost every custom business application. So, we must remember that:
In this age of information, a database is never faraway and the data is never inaccessible.