The World of Data - Introduction to Databases

Relational Structure: Tables, Rows (Records), and Columns (Fields)

The most common type of database is a relational database. It organizes data into a simple, intuitive structure of tables, which are related to one another. You can think of this structure as being similar to a workbook with multiple, linked spreadsheets.

• Tables

  A table is a collection of related data held in a structured format. Each table in a database is designed to store a specific type of information. For example, in a company database, you might have separate tables for Customers, Products, and Orders. This separation prevents data duplication and keeps the information organized.

• Columns (also called Fields or Attributes)

  A column is a vertical entity in a table that contains all information of one specific type. It defines an attribute of the data in the table. In a Customers table, the columns would be things like CustomerID, FirstName, LastName, EmailAddress, and PhoneNumber. Each column has a defined data type, such as Text, Number, or Date.

• Rows (also called Records or Tuples)

  A row is a horizontal entity in a table. It represents a single, complete record or entry for one item. In a Customers table, each row would contain all the information for one specific customer, with each piece of data aligning with its corresponding column (CustomerID 1, FirstName John, LastName Doe, etc.).