Database Models (Cambridge (CIE) A Level Computer Science) : Revision Note
Limitations of file-based systems
What is a file-based system?
A file-based system refers to any system where data is stored in separate files (e.g. text files, spreadsheets)
Each application or department may have its own files, often with redundant or duplicated data
There is no central control or shared structure, files are often standalone
Common in older systems or small-scale setups
Limitations
Limitation | Explanation |
|---|---|
Data redundancy | The same data is stored in multiple files, leading to duplication |
Data inconsistency | If one file is updated but others aren’t, the data becomes unreliable |
Lack of data integrity | It's harder to ensure data is accurate and consistent across all files |
Poor security | Limited control over who can access or modify different files |
Difficult to update | Changes must be made in several places, increasing time and risk of error |
Limited scalability | Not suitable for large volumes of data or complex data relationships |
No central control | Each application manages its own data, leading to lack of coordination |
Hard to manage relationships | Cannot easily link related data across files (e.g. customers and their orders) |
Flat file vs Relational
A flat file database is one that stores all data in a single table
It is simple and easy to understand but causes data redundancy, inefficient storage and is harder to maintain
A relational database is one that organises data into multiple tables
It uses keys to connect related data which reduces data redundancy, makes efficient use of storage and is easier to maintain
Consider this example flat file table of students
This table has redundant data - the tutor and form room information repeats
This is inefficient
If a tutor changed their name we would need to find all instances of that name and change them all
Missing any would mean the table had inconsistent data
A relational database would solve this issue:
A new table could be created to store the tutor information and the tutor information in the student table could be moved to the new table
A foreign key in the student table (
TutorID) could link a student to their tutor
Now the name of each tutor and their form room is stored only once
This means if they change only one piece of data, the data is updated in the entire database and inconsistency is avoided
Database terminology
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Entity | A real-world object or concept that data is stored about (e.g. |
Table | A collection of data about an entity, organised in rows and columns |
Record (Tuple) | A single row in a table representing one instance of an entity |
Field (Attribute) | A single column in a table, storing one piece of data about the entity |
Primary key | A unique identifier for each record in a table (e.g. |
Candidate key | A field (or combination of fields) that could be used as a primary key |
Secondary key | A field used for searching or sorting, but not necessarily unique |
Foreign key | A field that links to the primary key in another table to create relationships |
Relationship | A logical connection between two tables/entities |
One-to-One | One record in a table relates to one record in another table |
One-to-Many | One record in a table relates to many records in another table |
Many-to-Many | Records in one table relate to many records in another, and vice versa |
Referential integrity | Ensures foreign keys match a primary key in the related table to prevent broken links |
Indexing | A technique to speed up searching in a table by creating an ordered list of key fields |
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