GIS Database Management System
What is a Database?
A database is an organized collection of data, so that it can easily be accessed, managed, and updated. For example consider the names, contact numbers, addresses, and more.
You may have recorded this data in an indexed address book, or stored in a personal computer using different software’s, such as Microsoft Access, DBASE IV.
Database Properties
- A database represents some aspect of the real world, sometime called the mini-world or the Universe of Discourse (UoD).
- A database is a logically coherent collection of data with some inherent meaning. A random collection of different data can not correctly be referred to as a database.
- A database is designed, built, and populated with data for a specific purpose.
What is the Database Management System?
A Database Management System (DBMS) is a collection of programs that enable users to create and maintain a database. Database and DBMS software together called a Database system. The examples of Database system are; Microsoft Office Access, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, etc.
The DBMS is a general purpose software system that facilitates the process of defining, constructing, and manipulating databases for various applications.
Database Management System in GIS
A GIS database or DBMS includes data about the spatial locations and shapes of geographic features recorded as points, lines, areas, pixels, grid cells, or TINs, as well as their attributes.
Data Types in DBMS
DBMS data types map to access ArcGIS data types:
ArcGIS data type | Access data type |
---|---|
OBJECTID | Long Integer |
SHORT INTEGER | Integer |
LONG INTEGER | Long Integer |
FLOAT | Single |
DOUBLE | Double |
TEXT | Text |
DATE | Date/Time |
BLOB | OLE Object* |
GUID | Number |
GEOMETRY | OLE Object* |
RASTER | Long Integer |
DBMS data types supported in ArcGIS
Advantages of DBMS
- Controlling Redundancy
- Enforcing integrity constraints
- Restricting unauthorized access
- Providing multiple user interface
- Representing complex relationships among data
- Database administrators
- Database designers
- Data backup and recovery
- System analysts and application programming
- End user
Differences between DBMS and RDBMS
DBMS | RDBMS |
---|---|
DBMS applications store data as file. | RDBMS applications store data in a tabular form. |
DBMS data is stored in either a hierarchical form or a navigational form. | RDBMS has an identifier called the primary key, and the data values are stored in the form of tables. |
Normalization is not present in DBMS. | Normalization is present in RDBMS. |
DBMS uses a file system to store data, so there will be no relation between the tables. | RDBMS, data values are stored in the form of tables, so a relationship between these data values will be stored in the form of a table as well. |
DBMS has to provide some uniform methods to access the stored information. | RDBMS system supports a tabular structure of the data and a relationship between them to access the stored information. |
DBMS does not support distributed database. | RDBMS supports distributed database. |
DBMS is meant to be for small organization and deal with small data. it supports single user. | RDBMS is designed to handle large amount of data. it supports multiple users. |
Example: Oracle, SQL Server. | Example: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL server, oracle etc. |