Orientation and readings this week gave me a good grounding in the necessity of relational databases within data management. At first glance, relational database tables are similar in many ways to spreadsheets—they’re rows and columns and are utilized in organizing data. However, one significant difference that I was taught is that relational databases are more disciplined and consistent in structure. For example, there is always a defined data type in each column in the table in the database, and there are constraints like primary keys and foreign keys that aid in keeping the data in order. Spreadsheets are much more dynamic but more prone to human error, as there is always little or no verification in place.
Another large take-away this week was that setting up and using a database system is more involved than just opening a file or saving information. Installing involves understanding the operations of the database engine, getting permissions in place, and sometimes linking it with other applications or tools. While this is more involved at the onset, the payoff is large. A database system makes possible data storage that is scalable, fast querying, multi-user support, and security. These are particularly valuable in business, where data quantity and needs for access may increase quickly. Databases also provide consistency maintenance as well as support for transactions, something that is particularly vital in applications like finance, healthcare, and electronic commerce.
In the future, I’d like to learn more about SQL and how I can utilize SQL both in querying and in manipulating data. I’d like to learn how I can produce efficient database schemes as well as how normalization, indexing, and relations influence efficiency. Working with relational databases will be important in my future as both a data analyst as well as software programmer because ninety-nine percent of current applications utilize some type of backend database. The skill will both improve my efficiency as well as my employability as an employee.