A database is well-suited to store and manipulate large amounts of data.
Information in a database is organized into tables. The tables in turn are laid out into columns and rows of information. This arrangement makes manipulation and extraction of specific information within much easier.

A text file or ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) does not provide for a specific arrangement of information. It is typically stored in a line-by-line text format, thus making sorting and pulling of specific information a timely process.

Databases are made up of tables. These tables contain all the information. Each table is divided into what are called columns and rows. Each column has a name associated with it. This column is a field of information. For example, your database may contain basic customer information, such as the name, street address, zip code, e-mail address, and phone number. Each type of information will be contained in a field. For example, the customer name may be in a field (column) all its own, and the e-mail address in another field (column). Columns run vertically in the table and a record (row) runs horizontally within the table. A record represents completed information. In the case of a customer, you might have several pieces of information as mentioned above. Once all the information relative to that customer is input, then you have a complete record.

If you had 5,000 customers in your database, this would constitute 5,000 records, each containing fields (columns) of information about each and every customer.

This arrangement of information allows for easy sorting and manipulation of information within. For example, you might want to generate a customer list by geographical area. Within the particular database program you have there is the option to specify what field or fields you want to sort by and the criteria by which you would like to have your information printed. This is a much easier task in a database than in a text file.

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. This is a language used with relational databases to develop queries. Queries are designed to look through specified databases to retrieve and manipulate the data within.

In the query he specifies the field names that contain the information he needs, along with the criteria for those fields. This type of query is known as query by example.

In Access, along with other relational database types, there is the ability to specify which fields you want to extract information from and what criteria to use when extracting that information.

For example, if you wanted to generate a report by customer name, country, and product name, then within the query you would specify these names and the criteria for these. If you wanted all customers in Canada who ordered a CIW Site Designer test, then you would have two sets of criteria; one for the country field, which would be Canada, and one for the product field, which would be the name of the product.

A menu query is a preset list of query options from which to choose. The options are limited as they compare to building your own custom query.

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is a programming language used to access information in a database. The query tool within a database may not serve your purposes entirely, thus the need to write an SQL statement to obtain the desired information.

A schema is a diagrammatic representation. In the case of a database it defines the structure of a database system, including tables, fields, and their relationships.

A relational database stores information in groups of associated tables. These tables are connected by a common field found in the related tables. This connection allows the information to be stored separately as tables, but it can be rejoined through something like a report or query, making relational databases efficient storage without data duplication.

A relational database would work well for the scenario described in this test question. In the scenario there exists large amounts of information that should be stored separately, but will need to be rejoined when extracting the information. For example, the customer information and order information may be stored in separate tables within a database file, but you may want to generate a report with the customer names, and the products they ordered even though that information is stored in different tables. With relational databases they can be joined together through common fields.

On the other hand, something like a flat file would not work well. A flat file database or non-relational database stores information all in one table. It works well for small amounts of data or data that does not have interconnected relationships. A non-relational database might work well for a company phone list, which would list employee names and phone numbers.

ODBC stands for Open Database Connectivity. It is an interface that allows databases to access information from external sources. It uses drivers to convert commands between the source and the database. While inspired by Microsoft, ODBC is an interface used across the industry with database manufacturers creating their own ODBC drivers.

In order for ODBC to work, ODBC software is needed as well as a driver for each external source. Many databases support ODBC, including Microsoft Access, Oracle, dBase, and FoxPro.

RPG stands for Report Program Generator. This is a programming language used to generate reports.

JDBC stands for Java Database Connectivity. Java programming allows for communication with SQL-compliant databases.

Turn the page...

Welcome to the World of Questy

Welcome to the World of Questy -- The World of Questy Sites are currrently undergoing a major overhaul. Stay tuned for updated links and news in 2008!

Unless otherwise credited all photos and graphics are the copyrighted property of Questy aka Tom Peracchio. Unauthorized reproduction of any of the pages of this web site is illegal, not to mention rude.
- Copyright 1990 through 2008 -