1. Database

Our society depends on data - on your way to school today, think of the information that was needed to make it happen. If you took the bus or a train, then that service needed to have a published time-table (data). And even if you walked to school, the school itself has to have an official address to locate it.

All this information \ data needs to be handled in an organised way. And this is when a database comes in.

Data is also quite personal.

For example, the play-lists on your favourite music or video service are stored as your own personal database within the service ??? you do not need to know how it works, but you have confidence that the next time you log on, the playlist will be there for you.

Such a collection of information is called a ‘database’ and they come in many forms.
A database is a collection of data or information which is held together in an organised or logical way.

Note: ??A database does not depend on the storage medium used ??? paper, mobile app, computer, cloud ??? the idea of a database does not depend on how it is stored.

This section will introduce you to the concept of database and its two main forms ??? flat-file and relational.