Computer Fundamentals & Programming. (Course No: cse 311) Contents

To-day software vendors are integrating collaboration technologies into their products. Groupware maximizes human interaction while minimizing technologies interference. The term 'Groupware' and ‘Collaborative Computing' are often used interchangeably when in fact they are different. Groupware is basically a subset of collaborative computing. Collaborative computing refers to the technology that is hardware, software and structures that support group working.

10. 
    MAIL ENABLING:-
    

11. 
    WEB ENABLING:-
    

For example, Word 2000 can now connect to the Microsoft's website and get clipart new images if the user wants to put in his computer, thus the options available to the user are more now. In the future also they will have more and more web enabling facilities in the new software.

Data processing is defined as the processing of data to make it more usable and meaningful information. Data means raw facts or observations in terms of any numerical numbers. It can be any words, numerical numbers, any codes or any mixture of numerical numbers and alphabets, similarly data could be voice, text, images or any numeric data too. Data means a file of records. A record means a set of fields. Data processing means to collect, manipulate and organize the data in a logical order. Then its content is analyzed, evaluated and placed it in a proper order for the end user. Thus the raw data is manipulated by calculating, sorting, comparing, classifying and summarizing to convert into the required information. The quality of the any data stored in an information system must also be maintained by editing and update time to time.

1. 
   TYPES OF DATA PROCESSING:-
   

1. 
   File processing
   
2. 
   Database processing
   

1. 
   FILE PROCESSING:- After collection data, it is processed in separate files. This process is called file processing. Again file processing can be divided into two categories like sequential and direct access.
   

1. 
   SEQUENTIAL FILE PROCESSING:- Data stored in a tape is in a sequence order. If such data is processed that is called sequential data processing or sequential file processing.
   

2. 
   DIRECT- ACCESS FILE PROCESSING:- Nobody can have direct access in a data file stored in a tape. But except tape, anybody can have direct access into the data stored floppy disk, hard disk or compact disk (CD).
   

2. 
   DATABASE PROCESSING:- A database means a self describing collection of integrated records. Most of the databases contain a directory of its contents. It can contain multiple related files. A file means a collection of records. A record consists of different fields. User define data fields and make entry of fields into records. Then they combine records to a file. Now users can manipulate and retrieve stored data in database in various ways to prepare reports and collect certain desired information arranged in some order.
   

In a relational database a file arranged in a tabular form. The table contains rows and column. Each column of a table represents fields and each row represents a record. The relational database management package has ability to manage data in more than one file. The data of one file is related to the data of another file through the use of common field. The database management packages have also data manipulating and data analyzing capability. It can also produce graphs from data in the database. All these activities are called database processing.

Information is the most important resource of the organization or knowledge. It helps managers to make right decision for the future planning of the organization. Data, images, texts, documents and voice can be an input data to convert into information. The user receives the information and then makes a decision and takes an action. Information is power.

By any means the quality of information must be maintained. That means, the information must be accurate, timely and relevant.

Accuracy of information means error free information.

Timelines means that the user can get the information when they need it. In fact it is prompt.

Relevancy means the use of a piece of information for a particular person. It is very subjective and personal matter. Information relevant for a one person may not be relevant or useful for another.

A collection of data designed to be used by different user is called database. In other word a database is an organized collection of related information about particular subject or purpose. For example, the information regarding the price of a book or profile of an individual in any organization.

As you know, database is an organized collection of related data. It is an integrated collection of records which contains different fields like name, address and telephone number. The telephone directory could be a simple example to answer this question. The user Mr. A can use this database for finding telephone number of a particular person or Mr. B can use it for finding a person’s name of a particular telephone number and third user Mr. C can use the same diary to find a list of similar names and their telephone numbers within the same city code. Thus a telephone diary (a database) could be used in three ways or more. Therefore the database is created to fulfill user’s need for different purpose.

(i) Data repetition

(ii) Data inconsistency

(iii) Data security to maintain

(iv) Wrong coding within the range

(v) Wrongly entered data

(vi) Data sharing may not be possible

(vi) Data lost etc.

A database management system (DBMS) is a set of programs or a software which provides services for accessing a database, while maintaining all the required features of the data. Some of the major services of a DBMS are as given below.

(i) Transaction Management

(ii) Security Management

(iii) Recovery Management

(iv) Programming Interface

(v) Concurrency Control

(vi) Storage Manager

(vii) Application
Hence DBMS is a software that creates, manages, protects, and provides access to a database.
(i) TRANSACTION PROCESSING:

A transaction of data means creating, updating, deleting one record or modifying a set of records in sequence. Similarly transaction processing means daily processing of records in sequence. For example any accountant officer users computer for entering new records steps by steps and processor it accordingly.

Concurrency management means co-ordinating the actions of database manipulations concurrently in the shared data during data processing. For example if one user manipulates a record, the effect is distributed in the other shared records too.

Recovery management is a facility used in the DBMS. Recovery mechanisms in a DBMS make sure that the database is returned to a consistent state after a transaction fails or aborts. For example a DBMS, if a record is incomplete or damaged the program skips it and does process again during processing time.

DBMS can make sure that only authorized users are given access to the data in the database. This is called the security management or a protection of a database from the unauthorized persons.

The DBMS provides support programming languages used for the definition and manipulation of the data in the database. The data structures are created using the data definition language commands. The data manipulation is done using the data manipulation command. This is the example of language interface management of the DBMS.

In any type of DBMS there is a data catalog system. Data catalog or Data Dictionary is a system database that contains the descriptions of data in the database. It contains information about data, relationship, constrains and the entire schema that organize these features into a unified database.

The DBMS provides a facility of permanently storing of the data. The storage manager interfaces with the operating system to access the physical storage. The internal schema defines how the data should be stored by the storage management mechanism.

A DBMS provides a secure and survivable medium for the permanent storage and retrieval of data. It can provide many facilities like transaction processing, programming interface, security management, recovery management, concurrency management and storage management, etc. DBMS is very easy to use, access and manipulate the data in the database.

There are five types of the database management system like (i) Hierarchical (ii) Network (iii) Relational (iv) Object oriented and (v) Deductive. These are the five DBMS models, which are running in the world markets at present.

Hierarchical Model is running since 1950 AD. It is an oldest DBMS Model. It assumes that a tree structure is the most frequently occurring relationship. This assumption is recognized today a misleading.

For example, hierarchical model is similar to company’s organizational structure. At the top we have GM. Under him there are 2, 3 deputi general managers (DGM). Just below DGM there are 6,7 department heads and so-on. Here the row position implies the relationship to each other from top to bottom. It looks like a tree structure.
(ii) NETWORK

To-day, the hierarchical model is replaced by Network model. The Network model can be used in a book distributor as an example. A book can have many attributes like. Title, Author, Publisher, Year of publication, distributor, cost etc. Similarly on the other hand, a distributor can have attributes like Name, Contact address, Discount and others. We can use these both examples in the network model.