What is a database, and why not just a spreadsheet?
The word "database" only appeared once computers could jump straight to any spot on a disk, and one early system grew out of the Apollo moon program.
โถ Start the storyA spreadsheet is a file; a database is a whole system built to look after data. A database is an organized collection of data, plus the software that manages it, called a . People do use the word loosely for any pile of related data, even a spreadsheet or a card index. The difference shows up as the data grows and more people and programs need it.
Once that happens, a takes over the jobs that become urgent: letting people enter, store and retrieve large amounts of information, registering users, keeping the data secure and correct, coping with several people at once, and recovering information when something gets corrupted. A spreadsheet is fine for a list of your own; a database is for data that many others depend on.
Step 1: Entry
People and programs put data in
Step 2: Storage
It keeps the data organized
Step 3: Retrieval
It finds what matches your request
Step 4: Administration
Users, security, correctness, recovery
The idea is younger than you might think. Before the mid-1960s, data was stored on , read in order from start to finish. Then disks arrived that let a computer jump straight to any spot, and the word "database" came with them. It meant shared, interactive use instead of daily batch processing. One early system, IBM's IMS from 1966, grew out of software written for the Apollo program.
Today most databases store data as rows and columns in linked tables and answer questions in a language called . Since the 2000s, "" designs have joined them. Small databases can live in a plain file system, while huge ones spread across clusters of computers.
Mid-1960s
Disks let computers jump to any spot; "database" is born
1966
IBM's IMS, grown from Apollo software
1970
Codd proposes the model
1980s
databases become dominant
2000s
databases become popular
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Recap
A database is the data plus the software that manages it, which matters most when many people and programs share a lot of data.
๐ก A trick to remember it ยท A spreadsheet is a notebook; a database is a library with a librarian who guards, finds and mends every page.
Surprising fact ยท IBM's 1966 database system IMS grew out of software written for the Apollo program.
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No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (10 claims) cites at least one of these.