Database

Database

A database is an organized collection of information. Common examples of a database would be a telephone book, mailing list, recipe book, or a check book.
The term database is a little different in Access. An Access database refers to a set of data related to a specific purpose or topic, along with the tools needed to utilize and manipulate that data, such as sorting, extracting, or summarizing.

Database Terminology

The first term to become familiar with is a Table. An Access table is a list of related information presented in a column/row format.

A table is broken down into additional components such as a row in a table. Each row is referred to as a Record. So if you look up your information in a telephone book you are reviewing your record.

Each column in a table is a category of information referred to as a Field. In a telephone book the column of phone numbers would be considered the Phone Number field.
One item of data, such as a single phone number, is called a Data Value.

Relational Database Concepts

Prior to understanding the concept of a Relational Database you should first understand the concept of a Flat File Database. A spreadsheet would be considered a Flat File database.

Relationships

Each relationship will have a Primary (parent) table and a Related (child) table as previously described.

An easy way to determine the Primary table in the relationship is to note the Primary key. Typically the Primary table is the table that holds the Primary key field in the relationship.
In the above image, the Customers table is the Primary table and the Orders table would be the Related table.

How each table is related to each other is another key concept in a relational database.
There are two main types of Relationships: One-to-One and One-to-Many.