Fundamentals of Database Management Systems, Second Edition

CHAPTER 10

DATA ADMINISTRATION, DATABASE ADMINISTRATION, AND DATA DICTIONARIES

Advanced technologies are only as effective as the people who guide them. This is true of jet airliners, x-ray imaging devices, nuclear power plants, and certainly computers! In the late 1960s, as early navigational database management systems were starting to come into use, a few forward-looking companies began to recognize the need for a department whose job it would be to manage the DBMS and its environment. As the years went on, some of these groups gained responsibility over data in non-DBMS files as well. In addition, some of them advanced from managing data only on an operational basis to performing in addition strategic planning, policy setting, and other broader-based duties. This chapter will describe the functions and groups that companies create to manage their data and their database environment.

OBJECTIVES

• Define and compare data administration and database administration.
• List and describe the advantages of data administration and database administration.
• List and describe the responsibilities of data administration and database administration.
• Explain the concept of metadata.
• List and describe such metadata realizations as passive and active data dictionaries, relational DBMS catalogs, and data repositories.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Introduction

The Advantages of Data and Database Administration

• Data as a Shared Corporate Resource
• Efficiency in Job Specialization
• Operational Management of Data ...