Another post from the DBMS Curmudgeon
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;”, From Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet, 1594. Not true for a Database Management System (DBMS).
The IT industry uses the words database and DBMS interchangeably. They are not! Simply put, a DBMS is software used to create and manage a database. A database contains data; a DBMS is a software product. First, let me define the two terms.
Gartner defines DBMS and database as follows: A database management system (DBMS) is the software used to organize, support and maintain the information or data in a structure stored in a computer. Although, normally stored on magnetic storage media such as disc or flash, it can also be stored in memory. The software includes the rules to organize the data and enforce the model (for example relational, network, hierarchical), insert, update and delete data, provide security for the data, enforce persistence and facilitate backup and recovery of the data. Vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP sell DBMSs.
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1 Comment
There were so many times I wished for these distinctions to be clarified and public. I spent many searches on Wikipedia to get less than this. Hadoop has made us re-examine terms and concepts. This is useful Don. Thank you.
You’re last line is grate. You right very well.