User manual

Chapter 3
Creating databases
This chapter explains the basics of how to:
1 plan a database
1 define and modify fields
1 define tables
1 create layouts
1 work with fields, objects, and parts on a layout
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Planning a database
A well-designed database promotes consistent data entry and retrieval, and
reduces the existence of duplicate data among the database tables. Relational
database tables work together to ensure that the correct data is available when
you need it. It’s a good idea to plan a database on paper first.
Follow these general steps to plan a database:
1. Determine the purpose for your database, or the problem you want to solve.
For example, “to keep a list of my customers,” “to manage my inventory,”
or “to grade my students.”
If other people will use the database, be sure to talk with them about the
data they will need.
2. Consider the information you will store in your database. Typically,
information falls into broad categories. Accurately identifying these
categories is critical to designing an efficient database, because you will
store different types and amounts of data in each category. For example, a
database intended to track sales has categories such as “products,”
“invoices,” and “customers.” A database that records student grades has
categories such as “students,” “classes,” and “assignments.”
φμπ10_υσερσ_γυιδε.βοοκ Παγε 71 Μονδαψ, Αυγυστ 25, 2008 3:59 ΠΜ