Concise Guide to Databases

Book excerpt: Modern businesses depend on data for their very survival, creating a need for sophisticated databases and database technologies to help store, organise and transport their valuable data. This updated and expanded, easy-to-read textbook/reference presents a comprehensive introduction to databases, opening with a concise history of databases and of data as an organisational asset. As relational database management systems are no longer the only database solution, the book takes a wider view of database technology, encompassing big data, NoSQL, object and object-relational, and in-memory databases. Presenting both theoretical and practical elements, the new edition also examines the issues of scalability, availability, performance and security encountered when building and running a database in the real world. Topics and features: Presents review and discussion questions at the end of each chapter, in addition to skill-building, hands-on exercises Provides new material on database adaptiveness, integration, and efficiency in relation to data growth Introduces a range of commercial databases and encourages the reader to experiment with these in an associated learning environment Reviews use of a variety of databases in business environments, including numerous examples Discusses areas for further research within this fast-moving domain With its learning-by-doing approach, supported by both theoretical and practical examples, this clearly-structured textbook will be of great value to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of computer science, software engineering, and information technology. Practising database professionals and application developers will also find the book an ideal reference that addresses today's business needs.