Database Design, Application, Development & Administration, 3/e
Michael V. Mannino,
University of Colorado - Denver
ISBN: 0072942207 Copyright year: 2007
Book Preface
Motivating Example
Paul Hong, the owner of International Industrial Adhesives, Inc., is elated about
the recent performance of his business but cautious about future prospects. Revenue
and profit growth exceeded even optimistic forecasts while expenses remained flat.
He attributes the success to the international economic recovery, usage of outsourcing
to focus resources, and strategic deployment of information technology. His elation
about recent performance is tempered by future prospects. The success of his business
has attracted new competitors focusing on his most profitable customers. The payback
from costly new industry initiatives for electronic commerce is uncertain. New
government regulations will significantly increase the cost of operating as a
public business, thus threatening his plans for an initial public offering to
raise capital. Despite euphoria about the recent success of his business, he remains
cautious about new directions to ensure continued growth of his business.
Paul Hong needs to evaluate information technology investments to stay ahead of
competitors and control costs of industry and government mandates. To match competitors,
he needs more detailed and timely data about industry trends, competitors'
actions, and distributor transactions. He wants to find a cost effective solution
to support an industry initiative for electronic commerce. To prepare for operation
as a public company, he must conduct information technology audits and fulfill
other government reporting requirements for public companies. For all of these
concerns, he is unsure about proprietary versus nonproprietary technologies and
standards.
These concerns involve significant usage of database technology as part of a growing
enterprise computing infrastructure. Transaction processing features in enterprise
DBMSs provide a foundation to ensure reliability of online order processing to
support industry initiatives for increased electronic commerce. Data warehouse
features in enterprise DBMSs provide the foundation to support large data warehouses
and capture source data in a timelier manner. Parallel database technology can
improve performance and reliability of both transaction processing and data warehouse
queries through incremental addition of computing capacity. Object database features
provide the ability to manage large collections of XML documents generated by
industry initiatives for electronic commerce.
However, the solutions to Paul Hong's concerns are found not just in technology.
Utilization of the appropriate level of technology involves a vision for an organization's
future, a deep understanding of technology, and traditional management skills
to manage risk. Paul Hong realizes that his largest challenge is to blend these
skills so that effective solutions can be developed for International Industrial
Adhesives, Inc.
Introduction
This textbook provides a foundation to understand database technology supporting
enterprise computing concerns such as those faced by Paul Hong. As a new student
of database management, you first need to understand the fundamental concepts
of database management and the relational data model. Then you need to master
skills in database design and database application development. This textbook
provides tools to help you understand relational databases and acquire skills
to solve basic and advanced problems in query formulation, data modeling, normalization,
application data requirements, and customization of database applications.
After establishing these skills, you are ready to study the role of database specialists
and the processing environments in which databases are used. This textbook presents
the fundamental database technologies in each processing environment and relates
these technologies to new advances in electronic commerce and enterprise computing.
You will learn the vocabulary, architectures, and design issues of database technology
that provide a background for advanced study of individual database management
systems, electronic commerce applications, and enterprise computing.
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education