Database management is a system of coordinating the information that supports a business’s operations. It involves storing data and distribution to users and application programs making changes as needed as well as monitoring changes to the data and preventing it from getting corrupted due to unexpected failure. It is an element of a company’s overall informational infrastructure that aids in decision-making and growth for the business as well as compliance with laws like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

The first database systems were developed in the 1960s by Charles Bachman, IBM and others. They evolved into information management systems (IMS) which allowed for the storage and retrieve large amounts data for a wide range of uses, from calculating inventory to supporting complex human resources and financial accounting functions.

A database is a collection of tables that arrange data according to a specific pattern, such as one-to-many relationships. It uses primary key to identify records and allow cross-references between tables. Each table is comprised of a set of fields, referred to as attributes, that contain information about data entities. Relational models, invented by E. F. “TedCodd Codd in the 1970s at cinateyeg.xyz IBM as a database, are the most popular database type currently. This model is based on normalizing data to make it easier to use. It also makes it easier to update data by avoiding the need to update many sections of the database.

Most DBMSs can support multiple database types by providing different levels of internal and external organization. The internal level concerns costs, scalability and other operational issues, including the physical layout of the database. The external level is the way the database is displayed in user interfaces and other applications. It could include a mix of different external views based on different models of data and may include virtual table that are calculated with generic data to enhance the performance.