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database Last modified: Friday, June 27, 2003

(1) Often abbreviated DB. A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. You can think of a database as an electronic filing system. Traditional databases are organized by fields, records, and files. A field is a single piece of information; a record is one complete set of fields; and a file is a collection of records. For example, a telephone book is analogous to a file. It contains a list of records, each of which consists of three fields: name, address, and telephone number. An alternative concept in database design is known as Hypertext. In a Hypertext database, any object, whether it be a piece of text, a picture, or a film, can be linked to any other object. Hypertext databases are particularly useful for organizing large amounts of disparate information, but they are not designed for numerical analysis. To access information from a database, you need a database management system (DBMS). This is a collection of programs that enables you to enter, organize, and select data in a database. (2) Increasingly, the term database is used as shorthand for database management system.

ASP Data Access for Beginners  If you are an ASPiring developer seeking a solid foundation in dynamic Web site creation, then look no further. This article details how to connect to a SQL Server 7.0 database using ActiveX Data Object (ADO) and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). Database Systems Laboratory  This site hosts the Database Systems Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts and contains information on their research projects and related documentation. In addition, there is an extensive list of resources for database research and development areas. CompassPoint home page This page highlights CompassPoint, a visual database that helps users catalogue, archive and distribute digital images. Yahoo!'s database companies page Yahoo!'s directory of database companies. Yahoo!'s database software page Yahoo!'s directory of database software. Database Journal An excellent resource for database professionals. SEO Resources A list of Web sites that deal specifically with the issue of optimizing pages for search engines.