A database is an organized collection of information that is stored electronically so that the information can be easily accessed, managed, updated, and analyzed. Instead of keeping business information in hundreds or thousands of separate files, organizations can store related information inside a database in a structured way. A database can contain one table or many related tables depending on the type and design of the system.
Before learning SQL, it is important to understand where the data actually lives. SQL does not create business information by itself. SQL is used to communicate with databases that contain the information. Once you understand databases, concepts such as tables, rows, columns, keys, relationships, and joins become much easier to understand.
A bank may maintain information about customers, accounts, transactions, branches, loans, and payments. Instead of keeping all this information in one large file, the bank can organize it into multiple database tables and connect those tables through relationships.
SELECT
CustomerID,
CustomerName,
City
FROM Customers;Banks, insurance companies, hospitals, e-commerce companies, government organizations, telecom companies, and software applications all use databases to store and manage business information.
- A database is an organized collection of data.
- Databases allow information to be stored systematically.
- A database can contain multiple tables.
- Databases can store very large amounts of information.
- SQL can be used to interact with relational databases.
- Business applications commonly depend on databases.
What is a database?
A database is an organized collection of information that allows data to be stored, managed, retrieved, and updated efficiently.
Why do companies use databases?
Companies use databases to store large amounts of structured information and provide efficient access, management, security, and analysis of that data.