A database management system, or DBMS, is the category of computer software programs that are used in the creation, organization, retrieval, analysis, and sorting of information in computer-based databases. A database management system is comprised of: * A modeling language, which is used to define the database structure. Commonly, database structures are hierarchical, network, relational, and object based. How they go about connecting related information is where models differentiate. The relational database model is the most widely used. * A database engine, which manages the structure of the database and optimizes data storage for a balance of quick retrieval of information and an efficient usage of space. * A database query language, that allows developers to write programs that extract data from the database, present it, and allow for the saving and storage of changes. * A transaction mechanism, which validates data before storing it while also ensuring numerous users are not allowed to corrupt the data by updating the same data at the same time
“Database architecture focuses on the design, development, implementation and maintenance of computer programs that store and organize information for business, agencies and institutions”. One such example is Microsoft SQL Server. There are four system databases in each instance of Microsoft SQL Server (master, model, tempdb, and msdb) and at least one user database. Some companies have a database used by a single application and some have different databases for each group or section in their organization. An example is a company having a database for sales, a database for payroll, and so forth and so