Databases - A Beginner's Guide, 1st Edition.pdf

Thirty-five years ago, databases were found only in special research laboratories, 
where computer scientists struggled with ways to make them efficient and useful, 
publishing their findings in countless research papers. Today databases are a ubiquitous 
part of the information technology (IT) industry and business in general. We directly and 
indirectly use databases every day—banking transactions, travel reservations, employment 
relationships, website searches, online and offline purchases, and most other transactions 
are recorded in and served by databases.
As is the case with many fast-growing technologies, industry standards have lagged 

behind in the development of database technology, resulting in myriad commercial 
products, each following a particular software vendor’s vision. Moreover, a number 
of different database models have emerged, with the relational model being the most 
prevalent. Databases: A Beginner’s Guide examines all of the major database models, 
including hierarchical, network, relational, object-oriented, and object-relational.  This 
book concentrates heavily on the relational and object-relational models, however , 
because these are the mainstream of the IT industry and will likely remain so in the 
foreseeable future.
The most significant challenge in implementing a database is correctly designing the 
structure of the database. Without a thorough understanding of the problem the database is 
intended to solve, and without knowledge of the best practices for organizing the required 
data, the implemented database becomes an unwieldy beast that requires constant attention.