Foundations of Databases

Computers are now used in almost all aspects of human activity. One of their main uses is to manage information, which in some cases involves simply holding data for future retrieval and in other cases serving as the backbone for managing the life cycle of complex financial or engineering processes. A large amount of data stored in a computer is called a database. The basic software that supports the management of this data is called a database management system (dbms). The dbms is typically accompanied by a large and evergrowing body of application software that accesses and modifies the stored information. The primary focus in this book is to present part of the theory underlying the design and use of these systems.

Database systems can be viewed as mediators between human beings who want to use data and physical devices that hold it. Early database management was based on explicit usage of file systems and customized application software. Gradually, principles and mechanisms were developed that insulated database users from the details of the physical implementation. In the late 1960s, the first major step in this direction was the development of three-level architecture. This architecture separated database functionalities into physical, logical, and external levels.

The separation of the logical definition of data from its physical implementation is central to the field of databases. One of the major research directions in the field has been the development and study of abstract, human-oriented models and interfaces for specifying the structure of stored data and for manipulating it. These models permit the user to concentrate on a logical representation of data that resembles his or her vision of the reality modeled by the data much more closely than the physical representation.