Week 7- Databases and Data Warehouse

1. List, describe, and provide an example of each of the five characteristics of high quality information.

Accuracy- How correct is the information you are dealing with? Are all the values correct? For example, is the name spelled correctly? Is the dollar amount received properly?

Completeness- Is all the information finished and complete? Are any of the values missing? For example, is the address complete including street, city, sate and postcode?

Consistency- Is aggregate or summary information in agreement with detailed information? For example, do all the total fields equal the true total of the individual fields?

Uniqueness- Is each transaction, entity and event represented only once in the information? For example, are there any duplicate customers?

Timeless- Is the information current with respect to the business requirements? For example, is information updated weekly, daily or hourly?

2. Define the relationship between a database and a database management system.

A database is an organised/stored collection of data. The databse is the information

A database management system is software through which users and application programs interact with a database. Is the actual application that runs the database.

3. Describe the advantages an organisation can gain by using a database.

• Accurately store records 
• Distribute information easily
• Reduce redundancy of information
• Information integrity- high quality information
• You can make your information secure- allows you to provide authorization to people who need it.

4. Define the fundamental concepts of the relational database model.

• Entity- Person, place, thing or event. A record generally describes an entity 
• Attribute- Characteristic or quality of a particular entity
• Primary key- A unique identifier, for example: a student number
• Foreign key- A primary key that appears in another table that links the two tables together. 

5. Describe the benefits of a data-driven website.

A data driven website is an interactive website kept constantly updated and relevant to the needs of its customers through the use of a database.

The benefits are:

• Development: allows the website owner to make changes any time all without having to rely on a developer or knowing HTML programming. A well structured, data-driven website enables updating with little or no training. 
• Content Management: a static website requires a programmer to make updates. This adds an unnecessary layer between the business and its web content, which can lead to misunderstandings and slow turnarounds for desired changes.
• Future expandability: having a data-driven website enables the site to grow faster than would be possible with a static site. Changing the layout, displays and functionality of the site (adding more features and sections) is easier with a data-driven solution.
• Minimizing human error: a well designed data-driven website will have ‘error-trapping’ mechanisms to ensure that required information is filled out correctly and that content is entered and displayed in its correct format.