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Database Concepts
A database is a structured way to store and manage large amounts of related information electronically. It's far more powerful and efficient than a simple spreadsheet or a physical filing system.
Need to know
What you need to know
- A table represents an **entity** (a 'thing' we store data about, e.g., 'Car').
- A row represents a **record** (a specific instance of that entity, e.g., a specific Ford Focus).
- A column represents a **field** or **attribute** (a characteristic of the entity, e.g., 'Colour' or 'EngineSize').
Explanation
From Filing Cabinet to Database
- Identify the main 'things' (Entities) you need to store data about, like 'Student' or 'Course'. Each entity becomes a table.
- For each entity, list the specific pieces of information (Attributes) you need to store, such as 'StudentID' or 'CourseName'. These become the fields in your table.
- Establish how the tables are connected (Relationships). For example, a 'Student' enrols in many 'Courses'.
- Assign a Primary Key to each table to uniquely identify every record, like a 'StudentID', and use Foreign Keys to link the tables together.