CIS 105 Survey of Computer Information Systems

1
CIS 105 Survey of Computer Information Systems

• Essential Concepts and Terminology
• Study Unit 13

2
Information.

• Words, numbers, sounds, and graphicsmeaningful
  and useful to people.

3
Information System.

• A computer system that stores data and supplies
  information, usually within a business context.
  Information systems often rely on databases.

4
Data.

• Things known or assumed. In the context of
  computing, data refers to the symbols that a
  computer uses to represent facts and ideas.

5
Database.

• Any collection of information. Technically, a
  collection of computer data in related records,
  with each record treated as a single unit.

6
Database Programs.

• Application software used to create, store, and
  manage information, organized so information can
  be updated, retrieved, sorted, grouped, filtered,
  summarized, and displayed rapidly.

7
Data Warehouse.

• A large database capable of storing all the
  information possessed by a large organization.

8
Bit.

• The smallest unit of information handled by a
  computer. A bit can hold one of two values,
  either a 0 or a 1. Eight bits comprise a byte
  which can represent a letter or number.
• i.e., 00101011

9
Character.

• One of a standard set of symbols, such as
  letters, numbers, and punctuation marks,
  represented by computers using bits.

10
Field.

• In a database, an area designated to store a
  certain type of data, the smallest meaningful
  unit of information contained in a data file. In
  MS Access, records consist of fields.

11
Field Name.

• A descriptor for the data found in a field.

12
Data Type.

• Classifications of data, including text, number,
  currency, dates, logical operators, and files.

13
Default Value.

• Pre-assigned content for a record field, such as
  a date or number.

14
Record.

• In a database, all the related fields about a
  single transaction, person, event, collection, or
  other grouping of data.

15
Key Field (Primary Key).

• A field in a data file containing information
  capable of uniquely identifying a record in
  relation to all other records in the same data
  file.

16
Data File.

• In a database, a collection of related records.
  In MS Access, a table is a data file. A database
  can consist of one or more data files.

17
Data Integrity.

• The validity and accuracy of information in a
  database.

18
Data Validation.

• Procedures built into databases to define and
  check acceptable input for fields, and to accept
  or reject the data.

19
Data Redundancy.

• Repetition of data within a database, an
  inefficiency increasing the possibility of errors
  in databases.

20
File Management Software.

• Computer programs to organize, find, and print
  records without a relational database capability
  to link data files.

21
Relational Database.

• A database with the capability to relate
  information in different data files using a
  common record (primary) key.

22
Data Dictionary.

• A tool used in database management systems to
  track the tables, fields, field names, field
  lengths, default settings, validation rules, and
  relationships.

23
Normalization.

• The process of analyzing data to create the most
  efficient database structure, one free of
  redundancy and supportive of data integrity.

24
Object-Oriented Database.

• A database structure that organizes, manipulates,
  and retrieves classes of objects, such as sound,
  video, text, and graphic files.

25
Data Mining.

• Analyzing data to discover patterns and
  relationships that are important to decision
  making. The process of extracting information
  from a database.

26
Database Server.

• A database program on a local area network,
  utilized with client programs (such as MS Access)
  by multiple users.

27
Structured Query Language.

• Language enabling simple or complex requests for
  data in a form understandable by servers.

28
Web-Database Integration.

• A variety of techniques used to make database
  information available on the Internet.

29
Computerized Information Systems.

• A collection of computer personnel, components,
  and procedures used and designed to provide
  services, collect, process, and store data, and
  disseminates information.

30
Point-of-Sale (POS) System.

• A computerized system that records items
  purchased at a cash register (often using an
  optical scanner) and calculates the amount due.
  POS terminals can be integrated with credit card
  authorization systems, as well as databases
  tracking inventory, sales trends, and customer
  purchasing patterns.

31
End of Study Unit 13.

• Return to First Slide
• Move to Study Unit 14
• CIS 105 Home Page

Created by James Q. Jacobs