what is Database Management Systems?

We all know that on the Internet, every moment, a large amount of data, which is a set of information that includes numbers, text, media, files, images, video, etc., is created and transferred between different systems. This information can be important for every person in their position; especially organizations and businesses for whom the protection and access to their information are critical. The information and data of companies are stored and organized in the database based on specific rules and order so that they can access their essential information when needed and protect their data.

Databases support electronic storage and data modification, and data management is made much easier by databases. The database uses a database management system (DBMS) to manage and control the data.

DBMS is a communication bridge between the database, user, and application, which facilitates the communication and interaction between these components and provides the possibility of defining, creating, updating, applying queries, and managing the database in general. So businesses, after buying a Linux VPS or a Windows VPS to host their websites, need to use database management systems to access and manage their information in databases.

Database management systems use the database schema technique (normalization) to optimize data control and organization; they also divide larger data tables into smaller parts to minimize dependencies and redundancies.

You have probably guessed by now what the article’s topic is about? Yes, you guessed it right; in this article, we will talk about database management systems, and we will introduce you to the types of database management systems and their advantages. So stay with us to know everything about Know database management systems.

What are database management systems (DBMS)?

A database management system (DBMS) is a software package designed to define, manipulate, update, execute queries, retrieve, store and manage data in a database. DBMS generally can change data, data format, field names, record structure, and file structure and also defines rules for validating, extracting, and changing this data. DBMS is an interface between the user, the database, and software that facilitates communication and interaction between components. The database provides all its files only to the database management system package, so the only way to access the database data is through the DBMS.

The database management system provides services to access the data in the database to protect all data properties. It also provides the possibility to manage the database design and the database engine in addition to controlling and organizing the data.

In addition, database management systems allow multiple users to access the database simultaneously while maintaining data integrity. Therefore, database management systems have a significant impact on the security and integrity of data and the uniformity and simultaneity of data management procedures. Compared to traditional file systems, DBMS offers advantages such as a more complex backup system and flexibility.

In the past, large organizations used database management systems, but their use has become a necessity in all businesses today.

Main functions of database management systems

• Maintaining the data structure
• Edit and change data
• Support and recovery
• Managing the maintenance and storage of data information in the database
• Performance Monitoring
• Security
• Set Information

Features of the DBMS system

• Creating and presenting tables of available data and the relationship between the data
• Create a self-descriptive nature for the database
• Providing security and preventing data redundancy
• Providing a multi-user environment to enable the management of multiple users at the same time
• Ability to separate data and software
• ACID feature support
• Ability to process multi-user transactions and share data

Types of database management systems

Database management systems are classified based on various aspects such as database distribution, data model, user number, and the number of supported users, we will mention below the main types:

Columnar Database Management System (CDBMS)

CDBMS provides the best performance in data management thanks to the organization of data in a columnar format. Because of their useful and effective ability to read data, they have fast performance in analytical processing. For this reason, CDBMS is usually the choice of large organizations with large volumes of data.

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

A relational database management system (RDBMS) with its user-friendly interface is one of the most popular and widely used database management systems that relationally consider the data structure.

The relational model implements the normalizing technique in the columns and rows of data tables and brings advantages such as flexibility, scalability, and more accurate management to users in data storage. Also, many relational database systems have the option to use SQL (Structured Query Language) to query and maintain the database.

If we want to describe the features of RDBMS, we must say that the data structure is considered in a tabular format and provides the ability to support multiple users at the same time. Also, RDBMS has the ability to control and manage a large amount of data.

Unlike other DBMS, RDBMS can also manage distributed databases and uses indexes and keys to avoid data redundancy.

Document Database Management System (DoDBMS)

In this model of database management systems, there is no relational structure between data, but the organization of documents and data is done in JSON files. Also, MongoDB Query Language is used for database operations such as reading and writing.

Distributed database management system

When a set of databases on a distributed network have a logical relationship with each other and require a centralized database program to manage, a distributed DBMS is used. The data is synchronized periodically by the distributed DBMS and also the distributed DBMS has the ability quickly update the entire database with every minor change.

Hierarchical database management system

In this model, the structure of the system is tree-like, and data is stored and organized in a tree-like structure hierarchically (from top to bottom or from bottom to top). According to the type of data connection in this type of DBMS, the data is displayed as branches and sub-branches, the information of each branch may include several sub-branches, but the data of the sub-branches is placed in the category of one branch.

Network database management system

In the network database management system model, unlike the Hierarchical model, the sub-branch data can have several branches. Thanks to this feature, it will be easier to examine more complex relationships, and it is also possible to access the entities of a graph and organize them using different methods in the network model.

Object-oriented database management system

In the Object-oriented model, there are no more rows and columns to organize data. In this model, the database is defined as a collection of objects, and the information is stored as an object in the database.

An object-oriented database management system, with the help of object-oriented programming (OOP), assigns values such as fields, attributes, and methods to objects.

Main components of DBMS

Database management systems use several components in an integrated manner to perform management tasks, which we will introduce you to if you are interested:

Storage engine: The main component of DBMS is the storage engine for storing data. In this way, it communicates with a file management system at the level of the operating system (OS) to store data.

Query processor: This component plays a role in clarifying and Comprehensibility of commands for the database and interprets user queries.

Query language: The database management system provides an API in the form of a database access language to access and modify information. In addition, the DBMS uses a query language to secure, and authorize data access, create database objects, and generally interact with the database. Structured Query Language (SQL) and MongoDB Query Language (MQL) are two examples of query language used in DBMS to communicate with the database.

Optimization engine: Provides insights to improve database and query performance. In this way, it parses database access language requests and converts them into executable commands to access and edit information.

Metadata catalog: It is a repository for storing created database objects. When objects are created, the DBMS automatically records information about it in the Metadata catalog and uses this information to confirm users’ requests. Therefore, this catalog is used to guide users about the database structure in a DBMS because it provides information about database objects, schemas, programs, security, performance, communication, and Other environmental details about the databases you manage.

Log manager: This component is responsible for tracking, user activity, backup, logging, and other tasks performed with the DBMS.

Reporting and monitoring tools: These tools are used to control the use of DBMS resources and create reports.

Data utilities: This component in dedicated or shared servers are responsible for tasks such as data validation, database repair, recovery and backup, and data integrity check.

Benefits of database management systems

The most important advantage of database management systems is to provide the possibility of data integrity management, along with the possibility of data access for both end users and programmers. Information is better protected and maintained when you can share the same data stored in files using a DBMS instead of creating new duplicates. Next, we will mention the advantages of DBMS.

Data sharing: DBMS allows sharing of files and data between users.

Preventing database redundancy: DBMS can control database redundancy by storing data in a database file.

Easily Maintenance: Because the database system is centralized, its maintenance is facilitated by DBMS.

Reduce time: DBMS reduces the time required for maintenance and development.

Backup: Having a backup and recovery structure, the database management system backs up and recovers data When hardware and software fail.

multiple user interfaces: DBMS supports different types of user interfaces such as application interfaces, graphical user interfaces, etc.

In addition to the things we mentioned, database management systems provide a multi-user environment due to their central storage system and provide data access to multiple users in a controlled manner.

Usually, DBA database managers choose DBMS to create a logical and structured organization of data. Also, the database management system can add new categories of data and information to the database without disrupting the existing system, thus separating the programs from the way the data is structured and stored.

Database management systems have the ability to separate the conceptual schema that defines the logical structure of the database from the physical schema that describes the files, directories, and other physical mechanisms, making it faster and easier to make changes as needed by users.

Disadvantages of database management systems

Complexity: Database management systems have many requirements and complexities. Therefore, you must either have sufficient expertise and knowledge yourself or look for DBA employees, developers, and programmers to properly use the system, and manage the installation and integration of DBMS in IT infrastructure.

Weakness in solving calculations: DBMS is unable to solve some complex calculations.

Size: DBMS requires a lot of disk space and memory for better performance.

The cost of software and hardware: the biggest disadvantage of database management systems is the cost of software and hardware needed to manage the database, which requires a sufficient budget. Also, if you want the DBMS software to perform smoothly and well, You have to spend money to equip the hardware with a high-speed data processor and enough memory.

Higher impact of failure: Any possible failure in the database can bring unpleasant consequences and serious damages. For example, if a power failure damages the database, you may lose data as a result.

Familiarity with popular DBMS

For database management, there are a wide range of database management systems, and we will introduce you to the most popular ones.

MySQL

It is the most famous and popular database management system in the world, which is a relational type based on SQL architecture and client-server, so it uses a tabular format to organize data. It’s also free and receives regular security updates and new features. Of course, there are some commercial versions of this paid program that are available for use. In the free version of this database, instead of focusing on adding many features, the main focus has been on speed and reliability.

MySQL database management system supports C, C++, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby programming languages as well as computing platforms such as Linux, Windows, and macOS distributions. Also, the MySQL user interface is very simple and understandable, and it does not take up a lot of system resources.

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an open-source enterprise-class database management system. PostgreSQL is the preferred choice of database administrators and developers for protecting data integrity, developing applications, and building fault-tolerant environments. PostgreSQL uses SQL for relational queries and JSON for non-relational queries.

PostgreSQL is compatible with most major operating systems such as Linux, Windows, and macOS distributions, and most programming languages such as Python, Ruby, Java, C, C++, and Perl are supported by PostgreSQL.

Since PostgreSQL is open source and free, you can develop PostgreSQL according to your wishes by accessing its code, which is under an open-source license. PostgreSQL allows you to create custom functions and define data types, and you can also write code in different languages without recompiling databases. In PostgreSQL, data is organized and collected in the form of tables and catalogs by adding access methods and performance information.

Oracle database

Oracle has always been on the list of the best famous databases that are RDBMS type with an architecture divided between logical and physical structures. Organizational network computing is one of the advantages of Oracle, which offers users flexibility in adjusting their size due to having modular physical memory. For large databases, Oracle offers the best performance because it is based on memory caching architecture and provides security and data integrity by restoring and backing up the database using the Recovery Manager (RMAN) tool.

The first version of this database was presented in the late 70s and until today, various versions of it have been provided so that you can choose the version that suits your work. The latest version of Oracle 12c is designed for clouds and can be placed on one server or several servers, so it can record and manage billions of records without problems. Also, the security in this version of the program has been greatly improved because each transaction is isolated from all other transactions.

Oracle has made it possible for users to distribute, use and embed its codes by its commitment to being open source. Like other databases for database software development, it supports C, C++, Java, COBOL, PL/SQL, and Visual Basic languages, and fortunately, it is compatible with most major operating systems, Linux, Windows, and macOS.

MongoDB

MongoDB is a document database system that stores data in collections and documents in addition to SQL (NoSQL). Unstructured data storage, full index support, and replication using APIs are some of the notable features of MongoDB. MongoDB is known as free software under the Server-Side Public Terms (SSPL) that supports multiple programming languages, including Node.js, PHP, Motor, Scala, Swift, and C#. Linux, Windows, and macOS are just some of the popular operating systems that MongoDB can run on.

Schema-free databases, which can contain a single collection with multiple documents, are supported by MongoDB. There is no requirement that data in a database have relationships. Because of its nature, MongoDB is suitable for huge projects with millions of documents.

FAQ

Conclusion

As we explained, database management systems are the way of communication between the user, database, and application software. Nowadays, the use of DBMS is almost inevitable for all programmers and developers. DBMS can be used for various purposes, the main task of which is to manage, execute, edit and retrieve data and queries in the database. If you are looking for a simple solution to manage a large amount of data in a database that have complex relationships with each other, the database management system is the most ideal proposal.

The topic of this article was database management systems, where we talked about the advantages and performance and types of DBMS, and we have introduced you well to the features of database management systems. We hope this article can answer your questions about DBMS.

Thank you for your good choice.