(BQ) Part 2 book "Accounting information systems" has contents: Database management systems; the REA approach to database modeling; enterprise resource planning systems; electronic commerce systems; managing the systems development life cycle; construct, deliver, and maintain systems project,.and other contents. | part Advanced Technologies in Accounting Information Chapter 9 III Database Management Systems 397 Chapter 10 The REA Approach to Database Modeling 459 Chapter 11 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems 489 Chapter 12 Electronic Commerce Systems 523 395 chapter Database Management Systems 9 T his chapter deals with the database approach to managing an organization’s data resources. The database model is a particular philosophy whose objectives are supported by specific strategies, techniques, hardware, and software that are very different from those associated with flat-file environments. Chapter 1 drew a distinction between two general data management approaches: the flat-file model and the database model. Because the best way to present the virtues of the database model is by contrast with the flat-file model, the first section of this chapter examines how traditional flat-file problems are resolved under the database approach. Important features of modern relational databases are covered later in the chapter. The second section describes in detail the functions and relationship between four primary elements of the database environment: the users, the database management system (DBMS), the database administrator (DBA), and the physical database. The third section is devoted to an in-depth explanation of the characteristics of the relational model. A number of database design topics are covered, including data modeling, deriving relational tables from entity relationship (ER) diagrams, the creation of user views, and data normalization techniques. The fourth section concludes the chapter with a discussion of distributed database issues. It examines three possible database configurations in a distributed environment: centralized, partitioned, and replicated databases. I I Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should: I Understand the operational problems inherent in the flat-file approach to data management that gave rise to the database .
