Computerizing a data base

As you have seen, you can set up a useful data base manually—and you do, whenever you create any kind of list or record to organize Information. But what happens when your collection of data gets really big? You start out with notes on a single index card. Gradually you accumulate a pile of index cards. You set up an organizational system and file the cards in a box. Before long there's a second box, and then a third. Soon you need an index to your index cards in order to find information!

That's where a computer and a database management system come in handy. A computer, as you know, is an ideal tool for collecting and manipulating data. A data-base management system, or DBMS, is a special program designed to enable you to manage data on a computer in a useful way. With a data­base management system, you can transfer the contents of your cards, notebooks, and file cabinets onto disks. Then you can use the computer to retrieve the data, organize it, update it, and even sort through it for specific information. Need an alphabetical list of all the players in your baseball card collection? A list of those players born in 1987? A list of shortstops? Tell the computer what you want. In seconds it pulls the information out of your data base and displays it on the screen.