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55 lines
2.9 KiB
55 lines
2.9 KiB
<br><h2>1.5. Software for database construction</h2>
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<p>
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So far you have learnt the general characteristics of databases without going into much
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detail about specific applications for designing them.
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</p>
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<p>
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The first databases were built together with large mainframe computers in the 60s, e.g. IBM System/360.
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Those were not the days of PCs, therefore these databases required a highly specialized personnel.
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Although the old computers' hardware was unreliable, they were immeasurably slower and had less
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storage capacity, one feature of databases still remains most attractive: the data access by many
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users through network.
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</p>
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<p>
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In the 70s scientists formed the theory of relational databases
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(terms like: <em>table</em>, <em>record</em>, <em>column (field)</em> and <em>relationality</em> and many others).
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On the basis of this theory IBM DB2 and Oracle databases were created,
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which have been developed and used till today. In the late 70s the first PCs
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were constructed. Their users could (gradually) utilize many types of applications,
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including those for database construction.
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</p>
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<p>When it comes to large databases in companies, the situation hasn't changed:
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they still require powerful computers or computer complexes called <em>clusters</em>.
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This goes, however, beyond the topic of this manual.
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</p>
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<p>
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In the area of "accessible" databases with graphic user interface
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for PCs you can choose from the following:
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</p>
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<p>
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</p><ul>
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<li><p><a href="http://www.dbase.com/">DBase</a>
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- a tool for databases operation for DOS popular in the 80s. Files in DBase format
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are still used in some specific cases due to their simplicity.
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</p></li>
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<li><p><a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro/productinfo/overview/">FoxPro</a>
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- an application similar to DBase (early 90s). After being taken over by
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Microsoft, graphic user interfaces were introduced and therefore it is
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used for creating databases on PCs. This product is still offered, though seems a bit obsolete.
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</p></li>
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<li><p><a href="http://office.microsoft.com/access/">Microsoft Access</a>
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- an application for databases (data and graphic interface design) with many simplifications,
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therefore suitable for beginners, designed in the late 80s,
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based on 16-Bit Architecture. Product offered and widely used till today, especially by small companies,
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where efficiency and multiuser requirements are not very demanding.
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</p></li>
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<li><p><a href="http://www.filemaker.com/">FileMaker</a> - popular application similar to MS Access in simplicity, operating on Windows and Macintosh platforms, offered sice 1985.
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</p></li>
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<li><p><a href="http://www.kexi.pl/">Kexi</a>
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- a multiplatform application (Unix/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X) designed in 2003,
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developed according to Open Source principles, part of the Trinity Desktop Environment project, i.e. graphic environment for Unix/Linux systems. A significant contributor to Kexi's development is OpenOffice Poland company.
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</p></li>
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</ul>
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</p>
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