Why need databases application in website?
With the advent of the term WWW (World Wide Web) vast amount of data has become available to the society.
Websites also render themselves to bulk collection of information, that they need to arrange and rearrange
in a way that it can be accessed in least possible time. When the whole related information is placed in an
organised pattern it forms databases and the software that helps to structure and retrieve the data is called
database management system (DBMS). Some well known DBMS’s are My SQL, SQ Lite, Microsoft Access, Oracle,
Sybase, IBM and many more. This article will make the picture clear to you as why your websites need databases
applications and what benefits they have over simple spread sheets.
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Updating and storing data: DBMS enables the websites to update or modify the data accordingly. It allows
websites to make add-on’s in the existing ones and also to modify the information within the records.
Even when multiple users make updates in the database, DBMS’s ensure that these updates are correctly
made. Without DBMS, there is the risk of losing important data and also of incorrect storage. DBMS’s
features like batch processing, locking, two phase locking and time stamping are responsible for making
such updates and also for the proper and orderly storage of the same. A modern DBMS helps the website not
only to store the data but also provides storage for data entry screen definitions, data validation rules,
structure to handle videos and picture formats and many more.
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Recovering data: DBMS offers measures to recover the data after a major failure like at times of computer crash,
power failure, natural disaster or invalidation of records etc. Current DBMS systems provide for special
programs that allow the DBA to take routine and regular backup and restore procedures. Even if the backup
is lost, DBMS makes use of special feature called Journaling that helps keeping log of all updates, in the
file other than database and helps to re-update the database after recovering it from backup.
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Integrity of data: DBMS enables the websites to store information in concise and integrated form thus eliminating
the repetition of the data. This further helps to avoid incorrect or irregular data. This helps in maintaining primary
key of a record unique. DBMS makes use of data type, legal values, format and key integrity to decrease data redundancy.
Diminishing repetition helps reducing the cost of storing information on hard drives and on other storing devices.
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Securing the data: As multiple users can access the data on a website, it can at times pose risk to the security and privacy
of website. So DBMS develops a security system for user security and data privacy. There are set of rules
determining who can approach data, which data can be accessed and what functions or operations the users
are free to perform. Features like encryption, authentication & authorization are set in operation to
provide security to database. So through the use of passwords, DBMS restricts the access of data only to
those who are authorized to view the data and those who are not allowed to view it, data does not exist
for them.
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Multiuser Availability: One of the major reasons that make DBMS essential for every website is that it can
make same information available to several users. To make the same data available to several users at the
same time the DBMS makes use of appropriate algorithms and this in turn offers integrity and data
consistency. Any authorized user can access data through query language provided by DBMS.
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Accurate and Consistent Data: DBMS eliminates errors related to updating of data in a website. DBMS stores data
and Meta data in a data dictionary, because of this feature updates and changes can be made in one place
instead making same changes at different places. Through this feature, any change made in database is
automatically registered in the data dictionary, thus saving the users from altering all the programs. This in
turn standardize the file formatting and system programming. This consistency of files and programs makes the
maintenance and management of data files in a website easier.
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Wide Communication Network: DBMS undertakes requests of user through multiple and variety of networking environments.
eg. Users can access the data through web browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox,
Safari and many more. Communication can be made possible through various interfaces like; by filling up the screen
forms, DBMS automatically publishes reports on website or gets connected to third-party systems to circulate
information through e-mails or other applications.
So we can say that database applications are very much crucial to a website as they ensure the integrity and
consistency of the data in a website. While implementing a DBMS to your site, fore mostly decide the kind of
DBMS you want and that suits your site the best.