In this blog post, we will learn how DBMS maintains consistency and security of information and what role it plays in modern society.
The 21st century can truly be described as an information flood, as we are exposed to a vast amount of information. This has been made possible by the rapid development of the Internet and computers. These changes have had a major impact not only on individuals’ lifestyles but also on the overall structure of society. As information has become more accessible, people have gained the ability to obtain more data quickly and make decisions based on that data. However, in this flood of information, it is crucial to manage accurate and reliable data. To do this, a system is needed to organize and continuously manage data. This is where the database management system (DBMS) comes in. DBMS is used in numerous places.
Two important considerations in DBMS are consistency and security. Consistency refers to the consistency of data, meaning that even if a database is read and written multiple times, no incorrect values are entered into the database. Let’s look at an example.
Suppose a bank manually processes deposit and withdrawal transactions. Transaction records are recorded in a single ledger. At a certain point in time, the bank has 10 billion dollars in its account. If two bank tellers simultaneously check the balance at this point, one teller withdraws 7 billion dollars, and the other teller withdraws 5 billion dollars. At this point, the bank only has 1 billion dollars, but the two bank employees have effectively loaned out a total of 2 billion dollars. This situation arises because the database containing the withdrawal records is not properly managed.
As in the example above, when one person reads a database and makes changes, another person must wait until the changes are complete before they can write the correct value. If one person reads 1 billion dollars and locks the ledger so that others cannot read it, the other bank employee must wait until the first employee completes their task. After the task is completed and the balance is updated, the waiting bank employee can then read the new balance and process the transaction. In the above example, this would result in 7 billion dollars being loaned out, leaving only 3 billion dollars remaining, making it impossible to loan out the additional 5 billion dollars.
The importance of DBMS can also be seen in various industries. For example, DBMS plays an important role in managing patient records in the medical field. Consistent management of patient medical records, prescription histories, and test results is essential for providing appropriate medical services. If the database loses consistency, it could seriously affect patient treatment. Therefore, maintaining the consistency and security of databases is extremely important in the medical field as well.
The second example is safety. This refers to ensuring that data is not lost and remains intact. Data must not be lost during repeated reading and writing. Let’s look at an example to illustrate this.
A customer wants to borrow $100 million. At the same time, the customer is very busy and has another customer who wants to deposit $200 million. The bank teller processes both customers simultaneously, recording each transaction in the ledger. However, they only record the 100 million dollar loan and fail to note the 200 million dollar deposit. In this case, the 200 million dollars intended for the second customer should be credited to their account, but it disappears from the records. This issue also arises from improper database management.
As such, creating an efficient DBMS requires a great deal of thought. When actually creating a DBMS, there are many other factors to consider in addition to the two mentioned above. As the number of factors to consider increases, there is a possibility that the system itself may slow down. Additionally, the ability to quickly recover from errors that cause the system to stop is also necessary. The purpose of a DBMS is to consider numerous factors and safely process large amounts of data within the desired time frame.
In fact, DBMS is used to manage a large number of databases. Although we have only discussed a single bank above, DBMS can be used to manage deposit and withdrawal records for banks nationwide. It can also be used to manage various documents and project-related files within a company. Such systems are also utilized in educational institutions to efficiently manage student grades, attendance, and academic records. In large-scale retail companies, DBMS is used for inventory management and customer information management to enable more efficient operations. The demand for such systems is expected to continue growing. To meet this demand, lighter and more secure DBMS solutions are likely to be developed continuously.
