Advantages of DBMS


Using a DBMS to manage data has many advantages:

Providing Backup and Recovery:

  • A DBMS must provide facilities for recovering from hardware or software failures.
  • The backup and recovery subsystem of the DBMS is responsible for recovery. For example, if the computer system fails in the middle of a complex update transaction, the recovery subsystem is responsible for making sure that the database is restored to the state it was in before the transaction started executing.

Data Independence:

  • Application programs should be as independent as possible from details of data representation and storage. The DBMS can provide an abstract view of the data to insulate application code from such details.

Flexibility:

  • It may be necessary to change the structure of a database as requirements change. For example, a new user group may emerge that needs information not currently in the database.

Efficient Data Access:

  • A DBMS utilizes a variety of sophisticated techniques to store and retrieve data efficiently. This feature is especially important if the data is stored on external storage devices.

Data Integrity and Security:

  • If data is always accessed through the DBMS, the DBMS can enforce integrity constraints on the data. For example, before inserting salary information for an employee, the DBMS can check that the department budget is not exceeded. Also, the DBMS can enforce access controls that govern what data is visible to different classes of users.

Concurrent Access and Crash Recovery:

  • A database system allows several users to access the database concurrently. Answering different questions from different users with the same (base) data is a central aspect of an information system. Such concurrent use of data increases the economy of a system.

Data Administration:

  • When several users share the data, centralizing the administration of data can offer significant improvements. Experienced professionals, who understand the nature of the data being managed, and how different groups of users use it, can be responsible for organizing the data representation to minimize redundancy and fine-tuning the storage of the data to make retrieval efficient.

Reduced Application Development Time:

  • DBMS supports many important functions that are common to many applications accessing data stored in the DBMS.
  • This, in conjunction with the high-level interface to the data, facilitates quick development of applications.

Providing Multiple User Interfaces:

  • Because many types of users with varying levels of technical knowledge use a database, a DBMS should provide a variety of user interfaces.
  • These include query languages for casual users, programming language interfaces for application programmers, forms and command codes for parametric users, and menu-driven interfaces and natural language interfaces for standalone users.