Characteristics and Benefits of a Database

Characteristics and Benefits of a Database

1. Sharing of data and multiuser system: Current database systems are designed for multiple users. That is, they allow many users to access the same database at the same time. This access is achieved through features called concurrency control strategies. These strategies ensure that the data accessed are always correct and that data integrity is maintained.

2. Control of data redundancy: In the database approach, ideally, each data item is stored in only one place in the database. In some cases, data redundancy still exists to improve system performance, but such redundancy is controlled by application programming and kept to a minimum by introducing as little redundancy as possible when designing the database.

3. Data sharing: The integration of all the data, for an organization, within a database system has many advantages. First, it allows for data sharing among employees and others who have access to the system. Second, it gives users the ability to generate more information from a given amount of data than would be possible without the integration.

4. Data independence: Another advantage of a database management system is how it allows for data independence. In other words, the system data descriptions or data describing data (metadata) are separated from the application programs. This is possible because changes to the data structure are handled by the database management system and are not embedded in the program itself.