•On it’s own 110913 means nothing – it’s just a piece of data.
•You need to add format/structure and context to data for it to make sense – this gives the data Meaning.
•For example:
-110913 = data
-11/09/13 = data with format/structure which now tells us this is a date
-11/09/13 = this is the date of the ICT exam next year
•If we know what data means we have Information.
Data + Meaning = Information
Height - Real
Est Age - Integer
Hair Colour - Alphanumeric
Eye colour - Alphanumeric
Gender - Boolean
The information school stores about me is kept in a Record as part of a database.
Each piece of information they keep about me is stored in a Field.
Two examples of fields used by school to store my inforamtion are medical records and detentions.
•You need to add format/structure and context to data for it to make sense – this gives the data Meaning.
•For example:
-110913 = data
-11/09/13 = data with format/structure which now tells us this is a date
-11/09/13 = this is the date of the ICT exam next year
•If we know what data means we have Information.
Data + Meaning = Information
Height - Real
Est Age - Integer
Hair Colour - Alphanumeric
Eye colour - Alphanumeric
Gender - Boolean
The information school stores about me is kept in a Record as part of a database.
Each piece of information they keep about me is stored in a Field.
Two examples of fields used by school to store my inforamtion are medical records and detentions.
Files records and fields.
1.What is a KEY FIELD?
A field that is unique for a particular record
2.Give an example of a key field.
Date of birth
3.Why are these needed?
To make each record unique
4.What is a FLAT FILE database?
They only contain one table of data
5.List one advantage of flat file databases.
Easy to understand
6.List two disadvantages of flat file databases.
Non unique records and lots of duplicates of records
7.What is a RELATIONAL database?
When data is stored in a table with several links between the tables.
8.List two advantages of relational databases.
Data is only stored once and complex queries
9.List one disadvantage of relational databases.
Expensive to set up and certain data can jumble up.
What is a key field?
A unique piece of data in a record also known as a primary key.
What is a flat file database?
A database which consists of only one table.
What is a relational database?
A relational database consists of more than one table in one file.