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Table
of Contents for Entire Course
Information
about a single item in a database is called a record. The record
is organized into fields. The information in the fields describe
the particulars about the item.
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A
database is a collection of information organized so that its
contents can be easily accessed, managed, and updated. Most are
relational databases, meaning that the database is structured
so that it can be reorganized and accessed in a number of ways.
Information
about a single item in a database is called a record.
The record has fields.
The library
catalog is a database. Each record describes a single book. There
is a field for author, for title, for publishing information,
and so forth. Most of the fields are searchable when you query
the database.
The searchable
fields for the book Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices
are highlighted in this illustration of the catalog record for
this book:
| Field
name |
What's
in that field |
| Author |
Schmidt,
Rick |
| Title |
Feature
filmmaking at used-car prices : how to write,
produce, direct, shoot, edit, and promote a feature-length
movie for less than $15,000 |
| Publisher |
New
York : Penguin Books, 2000 |
| Edition |
3rd
ed |
| LOCATION |
CALL
NUMBER |
STATUS |
| Main
Stacks |
PN1995.9.P7S34
2000 |
CHECK
SHELVES |
| Description |
lii,
412p. : ill. ; 22 cm |
| Subject(s) |
Motion
picture -- Production and direction |
| |
Low
budget motion pictures |
| Note |
Includes
index |
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When you
search a database for, say, a particular author's name, the database
software searches the author fields for that name. When you search
for a subject, the subject fields are searched. And so forth.
Here's
an illustration of a database record for an article written by
Chana R. Schoenberger titled "Search and Ye Shall Find: Database
Search Services," published in Forbes, in the 11
November 2002 issue, on page 136.
| Field
name |
What's
in that field |
| Author |
Schoenberger,
Chana R. |
| Title |
Search
and Ye Shall Find: Database Search Services |
| Periodical |
Forbes |
| Date
of publication |
11 November
2002 |
| Page(s) |
136 |
| Subject(s) |
Database
searching; Information retrieval; Online databases |
A typical
online database available in a library will have thousands and
thousands of records in it. When you specify that you are looking
for articles, say, by a certain author, or with certain words
in the title, or on a particular subject, the database looks for
those words occurring in the fields you specify. Together, the
field names, and the field contents, provide access to the materials
that match the query.
Databases
are very useful! At home, you probably have a list of phone numbers
and addresses for your friends and family. Or, maybe you have
a recipe file. It's likely you have a phonebook. These are all
databases. If you were to transfer the information from these
print sources into a computerized database, you would create item
records and field names, similar to those illustrated here.
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