Database Comparison Paper

Database Comparison Paper

Tania Hillard

Database Management / DBM 502

Pamela Hurd

June 19, 2006

Introduction

This paper will compare and contrast four different types of database software. The database software that will discuss is the Microsoft Access, SQL, DB2, and Oracle. A database is the most vital system for a company as it stores mission critical information. The continual failure of a company's database system can only lead to the demise of the organization - companies cannot do business without a working system. A database management system , or DBMS, gives the user access to their data and helps them transform the raw data into information. These systems allow users to create, update, and extract information from their databases. Compared to a manual filing system, the biggest advantages of a computerized database system are speed, accuracy, and accessibility. A database is a structured collection of data. Data refers to the characteristics of people, things, and events.

Types of Database Software

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a database software program that runs on Windows applications. Database is used to manage data that can be organized into lists of related information such as customers, products, vendors, employees, projects or sales. Many small companies record customer, inventory, and sales information in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. Some of the features of an Access database is that it provides a natural tabular layout as well as customized data entry screens, able to store any number of records up to two gigabytes, allows links between lists of information to reduce data redundancy, and able to create and save multiple report presentation of data. Access can be used to connect to Microsoft Visual Basic applications.

SQL

The Structured Query Language is used in manipulating data stored in Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS). SQL provides commands through which data can be extracted, sorted, updated, deleted and inserted. SQL has the full support of ANSI (American National Standards Institute), which has laid down certain rules for the language.

SQL can be used with any RDBMS such as MySQL, mSQL, PostgresSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Access, Sybase, Ingres etc. All the important and common SQL statements are supported by these RDBMS, however, each has its own set of proprietary statements and extensions.

One thing I noticed about the SQL is the hottest item with Microsoft Corporation. It can be used for enterprise data management, developer productivity and business intelligence.

DB2

Another commercial database that is ideally suited for e-business is DB2. DB2 is produced by IBM and has been available for Linux since late 1998. DB2 is a multimedia, Web-ready relational database management system, strong enough to meet the demands of large corporations and flexible enough to serve medium-sized and small businesses.

One of the key features of DB2 is its DB2 Control Center which offers administrators an easy to use interface for maintaining databases that can be run from any Java-enabled Web browser. Java developers are catered by the DB2 Universal Database for Linux which offers support for JDBC and SQLJ, and Net.Data allows for the creation of dynamic data driven Web applications. Perl developers can also take advantage of the DB2 Universal Database Perl driver for the Perl Database Interface.

DB2 has support for SQLJ, which provides