Advanced Database Technology and Design

Citation

Hutton, D.M. (2001), "Advanced Database Technology and Design", Kybernetes, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 216-224. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2001.30.2.216.5

There is little doubt about the need for books on database design and administration. Nowadays most users have no idea how a database is planned and how its designers change their ideas into software. Putting ideas into code efficiently is, as all cyberneticians and systemists well know, a very skilled job. We all want “better databases” which implies that the design is to be improved and its transition into software using modern programming tools has to be encouraged. This book does not cover the whole process but it does provide an introduction to the latest developments in database systems, even if it is from the applications viewpoint only. This view and that of the practitioners is highly desirable, and can only improve the ultimate product. Practitioners who raise issues about design trends and the developments that affect both programmers and database administrators will provide the necessary feedback for those who are responsible for the whole end product.

This text travels from conceptual modelling to component database systems, and the editors have considered active, temporal, and deductive database systems. The whole subject is treated in a structured way and written contributions are well chosen. It is, however, an introduction to new systems and ideas and the editors claim no more than that. It covers many topics, each one being the subject of a book in themselves. Readers can move from this introduction to the more specialised areas with some ease, and the book is worth having if only for this reason. The text does meet the needs of many database users who want to know more about what happens “behind the scenes”, and at the same time provides new updates for those who are immersed in database design and implementation. My own reservation as a database user is that the interface to the software remains as clumsy as ever, and often it is necessary to read the “thick” manuals provided before being able to get the best out of the system. Perhaps some of the practitioners’ remarks recorded in this book will give the all‐inclusive system that is easy to understand, easy to interact with, and easy to administer.

More details of this book and others on similar topics can be seen on the publisher’s site: http://www.artechhouse.com