A data dictionary is a file that defines the basic organization of a database. A data dictionary has a list of all files in the database, the number of records that are in each file, the names and types of each field. The data dictionary is hidden from users so that it is not accidentally destroyed. The data dictionary only keeps bookkeeping information and does not actually contain any data from the database. The database management system cannot access data from the database without a data dictionary.
Database users such as administrators are allowed to identify the expected data in each table and column of the database without having to actually accessing the database. The following elements of a data dictionary are very important when using a data dictionary. The first element that I will discuss is user permissions. User permissions are what give each user what they are allowed to access. Some users will only have access to read the information within the database, while other users will have access to read and write permission to the database.
With the permission to read and write, this allows the user to read what is in the database and also to write in the database. I feel that this element is very important. Some employees will not need the permission to be able to write in the database and therefore should not have this access. With giving employees access to write in the database that does not need this access, mistakes can be made and all entries are permanent. The second element that I will discuss is user statistics.
User statistics keeps track of all of the users that have any type of access to the database and what type of access the user has. I feel that this element is also important since this will keep track of the type of access each user has. The third element that I will discuss is process information. Process information is how the information is processed and the outcome of the process. I feel that this is also important for the database to run correctly.
The user permission element is used to identify which users has access to either read only or to read and write access within the database. I feel that this element would be effective so that if someone has access to read and write that it is logged in under their user ID and can be tracked to who entered the entry into the database. I would recommend this to an element in our database dictionary. The user statistic element goes hand in hand with the user permission element.
The user statistic keeps track of all the users that have access to the database and what their level of access is. I feel that this element would also be effective with our database dictionary so that if something is entered into the database that is it easily tracked to who entered it. User permissions and user statistics would consist of a log within the database. This would have the users name, ID number, department, title, and access information. Example of this would be: Mary Jones, ID# 85423, medical coder, read and write access.
I feel that having this information would be effective because there is then a tracking system of who has access to what in the database. Use of a data model in a new database would be made up of components to function as a storage area of information. The components of the database make the system functional. They make the management and the ability to access the database by the operational system. The operational system is where the data is supplied for the data warehouse. Data modeling is the relationship between the data, which is between the data structures and elements.
Data models are always improving and are able to change as the business changes. The data models are able to be changed, edited, expanded, and retrieved. The computer system and data are supported by the data model, which makes sure that the compatibility and consistency of all the data in the facility. I believe that this process is necessary to keep a log of whom and when things are entered or looked at within the database. Having a database will make users accountable for what is logged in under their access user.
Smith, S. J., & Berson, A. (1997, December 1). Components of a database warehouse. Retrieved January 28, 2011, from The Data Administrator Newsletter Web site: http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/4213