Databases’ And Database Types’ History

Database Systems and their Significance

Database systems become more important to everyday operations as time goes on. The database system’s capacity to manage data has made it extremely significant. It comprises of a number of established structures that gather data from multiple sources, organize the data, and make sure the data is maintained secure for both present-day and future use.

The Evolution of Database Systems

We are guided through the various stages that the database system has undergone over the years in the book “History of Databases” by three authors: Berg Kristi, Seymour Tom, and Goel Richa. The authors start by giving an understanding of the basic concept of how the database system collects, organizes and stores information manually without the use of the computerized system. The author provides a highlight of how the system works and how it can be improved to work better once the automated system has been implemented. The authors take us through the journey of database development from manual systems which were complicated and costly systems to a computerized system which made database use accessible and less expensive. This transition took years spanning from the year 1960 to the 21st Century. It further highlighted how the internet had played a significant role in the 21st century in providing information which has been used to develop the database systems. After the introduction of the internet, the database system has undergone a fast transformation making it a better and more interactive system.

The Future of Database Systems

Considering the transformation of the database with the current status, the future of database system is brighter. It will aim at taking into consideration of bridging the gap between various geographical locations to create the ability to use the database worldwide.

Relational vs. Object-Oriented Database Systems

There are two types of database systems namely relational and object-oriented. Three authors, Hellerstein, Stonebraker& Hamilton, provided an informed position on the types of database systems. The “Architecture of a Database System” made a substantial contribution by highlighting the relational database system. In their paper, they indicated that the relational systems have grown due to the internet and is one of the most used database systems. The extensive usage and excellent performance of the relationship systems have been due to the five main components. The components include catalog and memory manager, administration, replication and utilities which work together to ensure that data is well managed and maintained.

The “Achievements and Weaknesses of Object-Oriented Databases”, a journal by SikhaBagui, highlighted the second database. It was noted that Object-oriented database was developed due to the need to have more applications to handle data. This development was due to the failure of the relational database systems which led to the development of the object-oriented database. It was noted that purpose of the Object-oriented database system was to simplify the system to make it more interactive.

The Future of Database Systems

Database systems have considerably developed over the years. It has brought significant developments in data management and ease of access. As noted by Berg Kristi, Seymour Tom and GoelRichaplay in the “History of Databases” the future of database is bright and more developments will be coming. It is important to note the impact that the internet has brought and how it could be utilized further in making database systems more user-friendly, (Bagui, 2003).

References

Bagui, S. (2003). Achievements and weaknesses of object-oriented databases. Journal of Object Technology, 2(4), 29-41.

Berg, K., Seymour, T., &Goel, R. (2012). History Of Databases. International Journal Of Management & Information Systems (IJMIS), 17(1), 29-36. doi:10.19030/ijmis.v17i1.7587.

Hellerstein, J. M., Stonebraker, M., & Hamilton, J. (2007). Architecture of a database system. Foundations and Trends® in Databases, 1(2), 141-259.