Advanced Database – The ‘life cycle’ of a database

Logical Design – must be carefully designed to incorporate all the data and applications needed, including possible future changes and developments. Define the output(s) required, then work backwards to include all the elements needed.

1 DB Con

Database Creation – set up tables, relationships, forms for inputting data, queries and reports. This needs someone with good technical understanding of databases.

Data Entry – data can be inputted using the forms created in the last step. This doesn’t require technical knowledge if done manually, but can be a long process. Sometimes data can be imported from other sources.

Data Maintenance – this is an important step to maintain integrity of the data. For a large database, a database administrator will be needed to add new data and delete obsolete data.

Information Retrieval – information can be retrieved via queries, forms and reports. Depending on the applications of the database, users may be restricted to using the queries and reports that are provided or they may be able to create their own. Larger organizations may hire database managers to use SQL for complex functions.