| Audio intoduction to databases, including how a database compares to a spreadsheet, and why they are important. |
A
database is an organized collection of information. The term database
is a general term used to refer to any organized collection of data,
from a Rolodex on somebody's desk to the information in a room full of
computers at a large insurance company.
There are many examples of databases we use every day. You can call up a bookstore and ask for the most obscure book and chances are they will be able to tell you within a few seconds how much it will cost, if they have it in stock, and if they don't have it in stock how long it will take to order.
Microsoft Access provides tools for creating databases and manipulating the information in a database. You wouldn't want to run a Fortune 500 company from a Microsoft Access database, but the database tools in Access are more than adequate for small to medium sized applications (1-5,000 records) at home and work.
Some of the things you can do with a Microsoft Access database include:
- Store different types of data (character, numeric, date, etc.)
- Add, delete, and modify data
- Print reports from the data
- Query your database (Ask for a list of records that meets a certain criteria&#`150;for example, all customers that have made a purchase during the last 6 months.)
- Organize the data to reveal information (For example, a list of students sorted by GPA has more information value than a random list of student names and GPAs.)