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Subject:Re: Compare Thee to a Database From:Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 2 Jul 1997 10:33:18 PDT
Loosely speaking, a card catalog is a database. So is a disk-directory system,
a spreadsheet, and a hardcopy reference manual.
The dictionary defines a database as a collection of information organized
for computation or fast retrieval.
A computerized database usually entails a highly structured format that
organizes data into files, records, and fields (or tables, rows, and
columns).
The big problem I have in explaining a database is the concept of "data,"
which is a peculiar kind of information, a "queer fish" as Webster's book of
usage puts it. It has come to mean "facts and figures." (Writers use it both
as a plural count noun and as a singular mass noun.)
The immense power of a well-constructed computerized database comes from the
ability to quickly retrieve, organize, and display information by multiple
criteria.
Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001 http://www.phoenix.com
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