Characteristics of Database

Characteristics of Database

The database approach has some very characteristic features which are discussed in detail below: 

a) Structured and Described Data: 

A fundamental feature of the database approach is that the database system does not only contain the data but also the complete definition and description of these data. These descriptions are basically detailing the extent, the structure, the type, and the format of all data and, additionally, the relationship between the data. This kind of stored data is called metadata ("data about data"). 

b) Separation of  Data and Applications:

Application software does not need any knowledge about physical data storage like encoding, format, storage place, etc. It only communicates with the management system of a database (DBMS) via a standardized interface with the help of a standardized language like SQL.

c) Data Integrity: 

Data integrity is a byword for the quality and the reliability of the data of a database system. In a broader sense of data, integrity includes also the protection of the database from unauthorized access (confidentiality) and unauthorized changes. Data reflect facts of the real world. 

d) Transactions: 

A transaction is a bundle of actions that are done within a database to bring it from one consistent state to a new consistent state. In between the data are inevitably inconsistent.

e) Data Persistence: 

Data persistence means that in a DBMS all data is maintained as long as it is not deleted explicitly. The life span of data needs to be determined directly or indirectly by the user and must not be dependent on system features. Additionally, data once stored in a database must not be lost. Changes of a database that are done by a transaction are persistent. When a transaction is finished even a system crash cannot put the data in danger.