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CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 9

1. Learning Objectives gt Explain how databases work and identify their basic structural elements gt Identify some common information systems that use databases gt Describe the elements of a database management system DBMS and their functions gt Discuss the different database classifications gt Explain how databases are designed gt Differentiate among methods of data processing gt Describe the areas of responsibility for a database administrator CyberScenario FATHER S DAY WAS FAST APPROACHING and Lenora still couldn t decide what kind of gift to buy her father in law She was never really sure if he appreciated the cologne neckties or fishing gear she usually ended up buying Hoping that he had taken her suggestion at Christmas to set up an online wish list Lenora began to check some of the more popular wish list and gift registry services on the Internet Finding his wish list on her first try Lenora began to peruse the items he selected The range of choices was impressive from books to camping supplies to artwork She narrowed down the list by selecting her preferred price range and then began to read product re views from other consum ers She then checked for recently purchased items and was presented with a hint to select a leather case and software for the GPS unit that someone else bought for him this week Lenora smiled to herself as she pictured his sur
2. z azs zz es Tablet Techno Literacy gt Research and Writing Develop appropriate written responses based on your research for each item 1 What major features does Oracle s DBMS 2 How would you design a database to describe offer Go to www oracle com and study their this course Create a database outline on paper DBMS products Do a Web search for other with the entities that describe this course non Oracle sources of information about Oracle including assignments students and grading DBMS products Does Oracle offer any fea What types of records would you use What tures that its competitors do not Does Oracle fields would each record contain What fields allow prospective customers to download a might be shared between records Make sure free demo Is their software aimed at home that you identify the data type for each field PC type or professional users Write a sum Do you think your database would be a useful mary of the information you gather including resource for students and instructors if it was answers to these questions made available on a Web page Would the con tent of your database pose any security risks CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management 3 Identify a business that is dependent on data bases Many businesses exist primarily to feed data into a database process it and retrieve it as valuable information Can you think of a company in which practically every employee and
3. CyberScenario JERRY LEANED BACK IN HIS CHAIR and watched his favorite TV show on his computer monitor keeping the sound down so that it couldn t be heard outside his cubicle As Jerry sipped his coffee he thought about how much he loved these mornings His boss Rebecca Stinson was always an hour late on Thursdays Jerry wasn t too worried about being caught because he had instructed the company s facial recognition system to warn him when Rebecca arrived at the office Unfortunately for Jerry Rebecca arrived at the building entrance at 8 35 a m a full 25 minutes early As she neared the entrance digital cameras zoomed in on her face from three different angles Facial recog nition software created a three dimensional model of her face ran it through a database of authorized employees and came up with a match For the rest of the day almost all doors would open automatically whenever Rebecca approached But then she was the company s Chief Financial Officer CFO so few doors were ever closed to her Jerry s computer screen flashed a silent warning before his boss reached the elevator Jerry scrambled to get things in order as he gulped down the last of his coffee He quickly closed the video window replacing the TV show with the purchasing system screen Jerry immersed himself in matching invoices to purchase orders within the system trying to prove his work ethic to passersby He turned around to find his boss watch ing
4. High Level vs Low Level Languages Computer languages can be classified as being low level or high level A low level language is closer in form to the thought processes computers use Also called machine code this type of programming lan guage is a binary language consisting of 1s and Os On the other hand a high level language is relatively similar to natural languages such as English making this lan guage type easier to use than machine code Although high level languages are easier to learn and use low level languages run faster and take up less disk space This means that software companies can save time and money using high level languages to develop software programs However the programs will take up more space and run more slowly than programs developed using a low level language Programming Language Generations A computer programming language generation refers to a group or type of programming languages that were devel oped at the same time in a particular chronological order The language of the most recent generation builds on the languages in the preceding generation Currently there are five generations of computer programming languages as defined in Figure 12 1 A computer language is sometimes referred to as belonging to a generation of languages For example a programmer might describe HTML as a popular fourth generation language 4GL used to design Web pages Classic Programming Elements All computer programs contain
5. Information Systems CHAPTER 10 471 472 LAARA For an interactive version of this r sine or activ p i f summary go to this text s Internet Resource Center at www emcp net CUT4e A Spanish version is also available What role do information systems play in business An information system IS is a combination of people hardware software computer networks and data that organizations use to manage daily and long term operations computerized information manage ment increases productivity and efficiency making companies more competitive Computer based infor mation systems offer four key advantages over tradi tional pre computer information systems improved speed efficiency quality and measurability What functions do information systems perform Common information system functional classifi cations include distribution management systems office information systems management informa tion systems decision support systems executive support systems and factory automation and plant operation Within these categories are a number of different types of information systems includ ing office information systems OIS electronic data processing EDP management information systems MIS decision support systems DSS online analytical processing OLAP and execu tive support systems ESS There are two sys tems used in factory automation computer aided manufacturing CAM and computer int
6. customer site In ajust in time inventory distribution system deliveries are smaller and more frequent so that products are only in the storeroom briefly age at the place of production transported to wholesalers in various locations and finally delivered to retail outlets This system was slow and it was often a month or more from the time books were off the presses to the final delivery of the product This method resulted in large inventories of unsold products reducing profitability Just in Time Distribution In recent years companies have begun to focus on reducing inventories and the amount of time it takes to get a product from the fac tory to the consumer Called just in time JIT distribution new computerized distribution management systems allow companies to produce products to match market demand This shrinks inventories and increases profits In publishing this meant a change from large print runs to smaller and more frequent ones reducing the size of inventories along the entire distribution chain Figure 10 3 illustrates this model Stockless Inventory The most recent trend in distribution systems is a move to eliminate the local storage of products entirely As shown in Figure 10 4 stock less inventory distribution systems work by making daily deliveries directly from the factory allowing companies to keep their inventory and wasted produc tion to a minimum while increasing their responsiveness to customer needs
7. language is based on the tion system While earning a power of networks and the PhD in computer science from idea that the same software Carnegie Mellon University in should run on many different 1983 he worked as a prin kinds of computers consumer cipal on the Andrew Project gadgets and other technol a high speed and wireless ogy devices Since its initial infrastructure now one of commercial release in 1995 the largest installations of its Java technology has grown in type His early activity at Sun A popularity and usage because as lead engineer of the NeWS of its true portability It is a platform that allows window system led to the original design of users to run applications on any compatible the Java programming language and the imple device that supports the Java platform allowing mentation of its original compiler and virtual programmers and users to do new things with machine A decision support system DSS is a type of MIS that provides information that allows managers to review and improve a company s profitability Decision Support Systems A decision support system DSS helps managers make informed business judg ments A DSS is generally custom built for each application Spreadsheet pro grams and types of artificial intelligence are often used to create a new DSS A DSS might exist independently of an OIS or MIS but it is usually provided by the same software and database system Decision suppo
8. Information Systems Classified by Function distribution management system 445 just in time JIT distribution 447 stockless inventory distribution 447 office information system 01S 448 standard operating procedure SOP 448 connectivity 448 electronic data processing EDP 449 management information system MIS 449 decision support system DSS 450 data modeling 450 expert system 452 knowledge base 452 online analytical processing OLAP system 453 business intelligence BI 453 executive support system ESS 453 computer aided manufacturing CAM 453 computer integrated manufacturing CIM 453 statistical quality control SQC system 454 ChapterExercises iw RES The following chapter exercises along with new activities and information are also ett Wie offered in the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT4e Tutorial gt Exploring Windows after it has been accepted and approved A sup port contract normally allows users to contact the systems house for technical support training and sometimes on site troubleshooting Considerations for Planning and Updating Information Systems outsourcing 458 systems integrator 458 Factors to Consider When Choosing a New Information System open system 459 closed system 459 niche information system vertical market package 459 turnkey system 459 The Process of Developing a New Information System business systems analyst 460
9. c CAM d HTTP Placing records into a logical order using their key fields is called a listing b organizing c ordering d sorting 1 Web databases such as those search engines use to catalog the Internet are becoming increasingly intelligent in interpreting que ries that nontechnical users write Go to sev eral search engines that boast of easy to use advanced searching techniques and try them out What other developments do you think may help databases become more intelligent and thus more useful 2 Smart guns have been developed and are being tested by law enforcement agencies The guns Key Principles gt Completion Things That Think gt Brainstorming New Uses In groups or individually contemplate the following questions and develop as many answers as you can Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases 1 Database administrators typically set up plans to mitigate the consequences of lost data 2 SSCs a standardized format for entering database queries 3 When choosing the fora database the numbers or text must be unique 4 Information about the data stored in a database is called 5 occurs when data is unread able incomplete or damaged 6 Matching data from fields in various record files also called is used when a database request requires data from more than one source 10 The The accuracy of the information provided A n detect
10. developed the first commercial computers UNIVAC and Il She also led a team that designed the first compiler to be used for typ ical business tasks such as payroll calculation and automated billing Hopper soon realized a need for a standard ized universal computer language In 1959 she and her staff developed the first specifications for the programming language COBOL The lan guage uses English like phrases to describe programs that handle business type operations For several years COBOL was the language of choice for database development in many cor porate computer departments and that prefer ence continues to be the case To this day the administrative functions of the U S government can be said to run on millions of lines of COBOL In 1966 Hopper returned to active duty with the Navy to help its IT staff standardize their high level computer languages She also helped develop programs to convert nonstandard COBOL languages into the standardized version In 1986 at age 80 Rear Admiral Grace Hopper retired on the deck of the USS Constitution She rejoined civilian life by becoming a senior consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation Hopper received numerous honors over the course of her lifetime including many honorary doctorates prestigious awards from computer organizations and having a Navy ship named after her However she maintained that her most valuable and satisfying achievement was teaching Grace Hopper d
11. include customer spending patterns and behavior competitive positioning with other companies and risk factors for credit or insurance purposes Executive Support Systems An executive support system ESS functions as an upper management tool It is similar to a decision support system but is generally more intuitive and broader in focus Executive support systems attempt to bring together information from an entire organization rather than focusing on any one department or group An ESS uses this information to support strategic decision making by facilitating the creation of high level summary reports that executives can use to help make any number of important decisions For example an ESS is often used to handle accounting issues for corporations such as cash flow quarterly earnings and dividends In addition to knowing which burgers sell best the CEO of a fast food chain might want to know which locations are experiencing the best sales growth This information could then be used to maximize profits by ensuring that outlets are only opened in the high growth locations the ESS identifies Factory Automation and Plant Operations In addition to being used in offices information systems are frequently found in fac tories Two major systems are used in factory automation computer aided manu facturing CAM and computer integrated manufacturing CIM Statistical quality control SQC is another form of information system often used in
12. information systems e improved speed Companies are able to perform daily operations very quickly reducing production times and increasing employee productivity e improved efficiency Information systems can be used to design and man age more efficient production processes saving time and money Information Systems CHAPTER 10 443 444 In recent elections voting machines have been replacing paper systems across the United States These systems are an example of a new type of distributed information system nm e improved quality Computer based information systems are less mistake prone than traditional systems enhancing product quality e improved measurability Computers can be used to track all production fac tors making it easier to sort through past data to find trends This information can then be used to improve products and streamline the production process The Rise of Information Systems The first computerized information systems appeared in the 1950s They were designed to handle tedious tasks such as sorting mail printing checks creating phone bills and storing demographic data for the U S Census Bureau Some observers worried that computers would take jobs away from people and in many cases they did However new jobs were also created often requiring more highly trained and better paid individuals People have now come to accept that comput ers are here to stay and that information systems are a
13. t quite as fast as assembly code when executing but it is much faster than BASIC C C is an adaptation of C More specifically it is a superset of C and any C pro gram should run without problems as a C program This means that a compiler that compiles and understands a program written in C will also understand a program written in C as C is the same as C but with added features such as object oriented programming Most professional software sold today is written in some form of C or C Figure 12 11 shows a section of C source code that prints out the numbers 1 through 10 CH Pronounced See Sharp C is a modern object oriented language derived from C and Java It combines the productivity of the simplistic Visual Basic with the power of the C language C programming allows the use of features in the Microsoft NET framework C and Microsofts Component Object Model COM Java Sun Microsystems s Java programming language has become widely used on the Internet as a script language for specialized Web page applications Composed of small applications each one called an applet that can run on all types of computer operating systems the program was created to facilitate communication on the Internet among the wide variety of user platforms Central to the software is the Java Virtual Machine JVM which converts the general Java instructions into com mands that a device or computer can understand A JVM is
14. Center and read the article titled Working with Pseudocode and Flowchart Documents www emcp net CUT3e 557 Programming Errors Programmers actually spend a large portion of their time fixing errors or bugs There are several types of errors that programmers must isolate and fix one at a time to get a program working The main error types are e syntax errors e logic errors e run time errors e style errors Errors often occur because a programmer was sloppy during the programming process instead of paying careful attention In programmer circles this is referred to as hacking code Hacking in this sense does not refer to breaking into security systems If a programmer is hacking code he or she is writing code without carefully planning and structuring the programs Code written this way is much more likely to have errors in it Among programmers calling a colleague a hacker is a mildly derogatory term referring to lazy habits and sloppy work Syntax Errors Assign 1 to As explained earlier in this chapter syntax Variable N errors like grammar errors are usually due to typing mistakes or a misunderstanding of the rules of a language Computer lan guages are very structured and require that programmers use them flawlessly to create a working program To use an analogy if a program were created to read a paragraph in a newspaper it might require that every sentence start with a capital letter and end with a perio
15. Newer systems are merging these formerly separate databases making them more accessible and increasing the number of ways that information can be manipulated Nothing shows this trend toward consoli dation more clearly than the Internet The Internet is a gigantic information system linking previously isolated governmental educational and business databases This universal accessibility is one of the biggest factors behind the success of the Internet Information Systems Classified by Function There are many different types of information systems and the easiest way to dif ferentiate them is by their function Any system might be used by an individual running a PC or by thousands of employees at a Fortune 500 company In either case they provide the same service but on a different scale The following are some common functional classifications for information systems distribution management office information management information decision support executive support factory automation Distribution Management Systems Getting products to customers probably represents the greatest impact of information systems on business operations A distribution management system is designed to deliver products quicker cheaper and with fewer errors Part of the system is an Information Systems CHAPTER 10 445 One of the uses for an information system is distribution management operational database but the structure also encompasses such
16. currently built into most Web browsers It works with the operating system on embedded chip devices such as smart cards or Web enabled cellular phones or it may be integrated directly into them Java is very similar to C but is designed to run either as an interpreted Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 567 568 Web pages using DHTML can change graphically when the mouse pointer moves over the hotspot on the screen script transmitted over the Internet or as a compiled machine code executable program This flexibility and its cross platform compatibility to run on nearly any operating system have made it very popular with programmers around the world Scripting Languages A scripting language is an interpreted language that is relatively easy to learn and use A scripting language is a nonprocedural language meaning that it explains what the computer should do in English like terms but not precisely how the computer should do it Web pages are usually built with script languages such as Hyptertext Markup Language HTML and JavaScript Advanced wizards and editors in pro grams using script languages allow people to build Web pages without knowing the underlying HTML code Users of these systems may not even realize they are pro gramming There are a variety of improved Web page capabilities provided by newer versions of HTML including DHTML XHTML XML and WML Other popular script languages used in building Web pages
17. effective for the first few years Information systems may not always reduce a company s bottom line but they do enable a company to grow and do more busi ness than it would have without a system in place Once an information system is fully functional improvements in product quality should follow For example a company that manu factures computer printers should see several improvements by implementing an information system Supplies will arrive more quickly and with fewer errors in the orders If the information system includes quality elements products will be superior to those produced using regular systems Higher quality products mean more satisfied customers and therefore increased sales the ultimate goal of any business change dela ee be With a well designed information system all aspects of a production and delivery are monitored As a result items remain in stock and available for customer purchase CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Reduced Clerical Staff One of management s goals in installing or upgrading an information system is to reduce clerical staff positions As a general rule comput erized billing order taking and credit approval processes translate into a reduced need for personnel Since employee salaries typically represent a company s larg est single monthly expense an efficient information system can cut costs signifi cantly However the costs of additional computer hardware software and
18. first Another common cause of run time errors is an infinite loop which is a programming mistake that causes a program to perform the same set of instructions over and over again without any way of stopping Infinite loops cause computers to lock up or freeze a state in which they no longer respond to input from the mouse or keyboard Style Errors A style error in programming code is similar to bad grammar in a term paper A term paper may still be readable despite bad grammar but the bad grammar will Microsoft Visual C Runtime Library x Runtime Error Program C Program Files Internet Explorer iexplore exe This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way Please contact the application s support team for more information Acrash bug a type of run time error is one of the most dreaded programming errors because it causes the program to crash Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 559 560 TWO FAMOUS NAMES IN THE PROGRAMMING WORLD Wirth and Dijsktra DR NIKLAUS WIRTH In the 1960s several computer scientists worked on extending Algol an algorithmic programming language One of these was Dr Niklaus Wirth of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich who was a member of the original group that created Algol Later in 1971 he published his specification for a similar language that he named Pascal after the seventeenth century French philosop
19. four main programming elements which work together as discrete units or in combined form Together these program elements allow computers to process data and turn it into information for various uses The four main programming elements are variables executable statements looping decision statements 5th generation 5GL 4th generation 4GL 3rd generation 3GL 1st generation 1GL Figure 12 1 Programming Language Generations Each generation of programs builds on the contributions of the group of languages that preceded it CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Variables A variable is a data value stored in computer memory Variables can be anything a programmer wants to keep and work with names numbers or even a status indicator such as yes no For example a program for adding two numbers and producing a sum would have variables for the first and second num bers and a variable for the sum of those numbers Variables normally have data types similar to the possible data types fields use in a database Executable Statements Statements are used to manipulate variables or for performing actions such as sending output to a screen or to a printer There are also statements that read input from the mouse and keyboard If the data is valu Clicking the enter key may direct a program to perform an executable able the program will store that data for later use as a variable When run by a statement which wil
20. from fields in various database files This is usually done by matching up primary keys used as fields in one record to specify a relationship to another record For example if student names and grades were entered as separate records out of state could be used as the primary key to find the grades of out of state students see Figure 9 3 Security Measures A DBMS also provides security measures to protect and safeguard data Payroll accounts receivable and e mail storage systems all contain sensitive information Figure 9 2 Example of Structured Query Language This SQL statement could be used to search for the top students in a college with top defined as those students with a grade point average GPA above 3 49 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management student grade records select data from both records Figure 9 3 Joining Joining matches data from fields in various database files Both the student personal records and student grade records files would have a common student ID number field allowing the information from both of these files to be returned in a single query that must be protected against theft alteration or deletion Competitors hackers crackers or disgruntled employees can do a great deal of harm if they are allowed access to critical company databases Maintaining data security is a critical issue for database administrators Security methods include res
21. glance this may seem identical to the first step iden tify the problem but it is more complex Analyzing the problem can involve learning new skills or concepts For example if a problem has been identified that requires the installation of a network connecting 100 computers the programmer must understand how networks function what kind of software and hardware are needed and how it all works If a solution to an identified problem requires writ ing a program in Visual Basic then part of understanding the problem includes understanding Visual Basic At this point it is probably clear that the term pro grammer only partly covers what a computer specialist does How broad a pro grammer s job becomes is partly related to the size of the organization that the programmer works for In some jobs hundreds or even thousands of computer people work on a project and in such cases a given programmer s job is very focused It is more common however to have a single programmer or a small group of programmers working on a given project This widens the list of respon sibilities for the individual Brainstorm Solutions and Choose the Best One Once a problem has been identified analyzed and understood programmers are ready to develop a set of solutions Novice programmers sometimes ignore this critical phase It may appear that the easiest approach would be to choose the first solution that comes to mind but unfortunately this often leads to
22. he said then programming must be the process of putting them in Dijsktra is possibly most famous for a 1968 article entitled GO TO Statements Considered Harmful in which he introduced the concept of structured programming and developed stan dards for constructing computer programs in an organized fashion His work usually was accom panied with a sharp wit as is evident in another of his infamous statements Teaching COBOL ought to be regarded as a criminal act Source Association for Computing Machinery December 2006 lt http www acm org gt CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages detract from a reader s enjoyment and most likely the student s grade In the same way a program may still run with style errors but programmers may be unhappy with the way the program was written One style error programmers commonly make is called dead code This is code that is commented out which means that it is marked with comments to notify the compiler to skip and ignore it Dead code makes it hard to read source code as it appears to be part of the program but actually has no effect on the way a program runs The Software Development Life Cycle The software development life cycle SDLC is the term used to describe the phases involved in the process of creating testing and releasing new software products This cycle is similar to the process used in developing information sys tems except that in this case
23. including counters that automatically add each item manufactured to inventory as it is made Database Management System Software Database management system DBMS software is software that allows a user to create and manage a computerized database A DBMS also allows a user to create reports from stored data IBM s DB2 Oracle from Oracle Corporation and Microsoft s SQL Server dominate the enterprise DBMS market In the PC market Microsoft Access is a widely used DBMS In addition to maintaining the overall structure of the data a DBMS has many other functions Database keys query tools security elements metadata and backup and recovery utilities allow users to manipulate database data into information Database Keys A key is an attribute that can be used to identify a set of information and therefore provide a means to search a database Within a database fields are used as keys and the designer designates the most important field in a record as the primary key The primary key must also be unique so it can be used to locate a record quickly First names are poor keys because many people have the same first name In a database that tracks traffic and parking violations the state of registra tion plus car license plate number could be used as a primary key because no two cars registered in the same state can have the same license number Phone bank a aj o g pos Table Tools Databasel Database Access 2007 Microsof
24. integrity performance and functionality of the database systems they manage Many of these tasks require the hands on involvement of DBAs but help is on the way through adap tive database management systems DBMS that can learn how to diagnose problems and perform repair and maintenance tasks automatically If adaptive DBMS progress continues databases of the future may be entirely self managing Improved File Organization Systems Efforts are under way to create a new file organization system that bans the simple but tedious file folder directory tree Newer systems will allow for easier file management with a more intuitive interface As hard disks bloat into sizes of 100 gigabytes or larger it is more important than ever to have a system that can locate every file simply and reliably Newer designs will use virtual reality to let people organize documents and music audio and video files in more familiar ways Imagine storing audio files in a virtual 3D structure like a CD rack storing family photos in virtual photo albums that are organized ona shelf by date filing documents in a virtual file drawer with no physical space limitation and keeping task list items on sticky notes around your virtual house 430 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management New file organization systems will look three dimensional and resemble everyday settings XML Databases XML eXtensible Markup Language is a metalanguage a type of computer lan
25. is to attempt to prototype the solution This means creating a small semifunctional version of the solution to see if and how it works In a Web site example a programmer might first illus trate or develop just the visual CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages The Boss as Enabler YOU SEE THEM IN THE AIRPLANE on the beach at the restaurant those suits looking ever so important talking into their cell phone or logging onto their laptop But those go getters who seem to be wired 24 7 to stay on top of their profession may actually be Internet addicts pushed into their illness by their employers Gayle Porter an associate professor of Management at Rutgers University s School of Business has completed a study that indi cates a direct correlation between the exten sive use of Blackberries and Internet addiction Blackberries sometimes dubbed crackberries because users become so pressure to be technologically tied in could be a source of stimulation that creates and feeds an addiction Employers often ignore signs of addiction excessive use of wireless technology and stress related illnesses because the employee is getting the job done But Porter concludes that businesses that currently pro vide programs to help workers deal with chemical or substance addictions may have to add IT addiction to the mix And since courts have long recognized the duty of employers to provide a safe work envir
26. machines by legalizing the elec tronic clearing of checks using scanned digital images and before too long you can expect to encounter one of these ATMs where you live This added convenience is part of a larger trend of extending ATM capabilities Machines in some countries can already print checks and event tickets offer for eign currency exchange and use biometric systems to verify identity It is only a matter of time before additional technologies transform ATMs into one stop cen ters that will allow consumers to conveniently take care of a variety of different transactions and purchases 470 CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Deriving Knowledge from Information Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently cited management guru Tom Davenport s definition of knowledge as information combined with experience context interpretation and reflection and noted that knowledge derived from informa tion provides a competitive edge While the Internet has greatly expanded the amount of information available to anyone with a PC and an Internet connection obtaining knowledge from that information is often difficult leading Gates to see great opportunities in developing knowledge tools He views pattern recognition and mental model tools as the next steps in helping people assess the value of the information they have access to These and other tools will soon facilitate the task of making sense of the information we have at our fingertips
27. of the documentation which covers functional and design specifications In most cases the project team creates the functional specification describing what y Project Pian Come Propet Par Samt Propet Me pami par appara pramet pae Coren y Drenopmere per terre Srey t A hee proect par iess o Oper s barca Dc Reatrg Ae aeaa meas a v Dite CTN Meser to pemn rn wec aumt mone ns or zaa inia de Bm Mog Fm Doma i mecs nee S gt owe e a 5 n 5 w a o he w twn Ooo e i 4 nw ew c ow qe am me ros us w a vios ae or wa x ma ae s i x yn i X x rea w ris y j r X ne pe rs w n ae que i e i t un ane n som son cow i ss emm i i i in e Gantt charts help to visually communicate the critical steps and schedule for a project CHAPTER 10 Information Systems the system must be able to do The company that wins the bid to do the project usually writes a second document called the design specification The design specification details the hardware and software necessary to execute the func tions The project leaders must approve both documents before work can proceed Functional Specification The functional specification document is usually written first and states exactly what the information system must accomplish For example one part of the functional speci
28. or dangerous Think of In what other industries would prototyping a three other processes or decisions that would be product make sense made easier through the use of expert systems CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Key Principles gt Completion Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases 1 Systems that are heavily customized to meet the exact needs of a business are called 2 A n demonstrates the user interface and functionality of the system to allow users to see what the final project will look like 3 The ability to link with other programs and devices is called 4 A set of facts and rules called a n is a key componet of an expert system 5 Because it must be serviced and supported by the original vendor a n often costs more money than expected Tech Architecture gt Label the Drawing 6 10 The isa series of steps culminating in a completed information system are documents services hardware and software that must be finished and delivered by a certain time and date in order to keep the project on schedule Systems that help managers make informed business judgments are called can be modified by a company s IT staff without involving the original vendor of the system ___ systems use a combination of data tracking and data modeling to build a picture of how well a factory is operating In this illustration of an information system identify t
29. order is placed A data entry operator types data into databases and makes sure that it is accu rate Many others work with databases regularly as part of their jobs including the accountants executives and salespeople of any organization Many operations are regularly performed on a database as a daily routine For a situational model consider a school s grades database The system controls and maintains student transcripts for all the students of the institution so records are constantly being added modified deleted and sorted Chouee eeether Course Orve 2710 Select a Section AG Orne Secton 1 Astudent s grades are entered into a database and stored The individual grades are used to create a report or transcript CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Adding Records Adding records to the system is a common operation If a student completes a course a grade record is added to that student s transcript listing the course taken the date of completion and the final grade received Modifying Records If a correction is needed to any prior entry the record in question could be brought up and the change made on a form such as a letter grade B being changed to an A Personal information concerning students might also require changes such as home and school addresses Deleting Records In the example of a college database grade records are rarely deleted Since a grade transcript database is really a d
30. programs meeting their applica tion needs The ability to create tailored business applications without the need for expensive and time consuming IT team participation is sure to attract the attention of the business community Lower prices for hardware and bandwidth the increasing compatibility of open source systems and new technologies are making these tools increasingly technically and financially viable One analyst predicts that it will take about three more years for these platforms to fully realize their potential and says that using them will be as easy as snapping together Lego bricks Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 571 a ees ChapterSummary Midagi For an interactive version of this aisis A summary go to this text s Internet Resource Center at www emcp net CUT38e A Spanish version is also available What makes up a programming language A program is a set of instructions telling a computer how to perform various tasks and programming is the act of creating these instructions Large program ming projects are much like engineering efforts They are too big to be completed by a single individual so they require a programming team Software engineers typically coordinate programming projects working with programming teams Programmers create pro grams using programming languages Programming languages contain smaller vocabularies than human natural languages and are much le
31. s Internet Resource Center at www emcp net CUT4e A Spanish version is also available What is a database and how does it organize information A database is a computerized system for storing information in an organized manner so that it can be searched for and retrieved when needed Data associated with other useful data becomes infor mation The constant need to alter and amend masses of data is called database maintenance Databases organize data in a hierarchical fashion storing information about entities in the form of fields records and database files How do databases help businesses manage information The most common database application is an information system which is a system of com puter hardware software and operating proce dures A management information system MIS is used to track and control every transaction through a database A decision support system DSS is another common form of information system Computer aided manufacturing CAM and computer integrated manufacturing CIM are information systems that support factory automation How does database management system software work Database management system DBMS software controls databases Keys are attributes that can be used to identify a set of information and the designer designates the most important field in a record as the primary key Data browsing is the process of moving through a database file exam ining each record and looki
32. seemingly unrelated elements as the duties and schedules of forklift operators and truck drivers The major advantage provided by a distribution management system is the reduction of inventory overhead Traditional systems involved the delivery and warehousing of inventory The next generation of distribution systems was called just in time and reduced the need to warehouse inventory by delivering it just before it would be used in the manufacturing process Stockless systems represent the latest type of distribution management system Savings in inventory overhead have steadily increased as these systems have evolved The following three distri bution systems have different warehouse storage needs delivery truck needs and storeroom space needs Traditional Distribution Management Figure 10 2 shows an example of a tradi tional delivery system Mail order companies including publishers were the typical users of this type of distribution system Inventory was maintained in bulk stor customer site warehouse delivery storeroom storage Figure 10 2 Traditional Inventory Distribution System In atraditional inventory distribution system regularly scheduled deliveries move products from warehouse storage to storerooms until they are needed to stock the shelves at a retail store 446 CHAPTER 10 Information Systems warehouse frequent storeroom storage deliveries Figure 10 3 Just in Time Inventory Distribution System
33. software engineering 461 system development life cycle SDLC 461 feasibility study 462 request for proposal RFP 462 project plan 462 deliverable 463 Gantt chart 464 rapid application development RAD 464 functional specification 465 design specification 465 implementation 466 prototype 466 beta testing 467 support contract 469 Tutorial 10 teaches the steps for installing and removing software so that the Windows Registry correctly reflects the updates to its database Information Systems CHAPTER 10 473 eee Eee Expanding Your Knowledge gt Articles and Activities snes Olh Visit the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT4e read the articles related URGE to this chapter and complete the corresponding activities The article titles include e Topic 10 1 Value Added Resellers and Original Equipment Manufacturers e Topic 10 2 Horizontal vs Vertical Market Software e Topic 10 3 Support Contracts e Topic 10 4 The Buy vs Build Decision Terms Check gt Matching BAESOURCE For additional practice go to the Internet Resource Center for this title at mit ie www emcp net CUT4e for a chapter crossword puzzle Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each numbered item a functional specification f outsourcing b prototype g stockless inventory h i c Gantt chart user training d beta testing design specification e turnkey system j decisi
34. the cycle focuses on the creation and release of a software program not the development of a customized information system The SDLC is repeated every time a new version of a program is needed As shown in Figure 12 9 the phases in the software development life cycle include proposal and planning design implementation testing public release Proposal and Planning In the proposal and planning phase of a new software product software developers will describe the proposed software program and what it is supposed to accomplish In the case of existing software the proposal and planning stage can be used to Figure 12 9 The Software Development Life Cycle The software development life cycle involves planning designing implementing testing and release of application software Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 561 562 Software programs are tested carefully before the master is released for duplication describe any new features and improvements Older software programs are often revised to take advantage of new hardware or software developments and to add new functions or features Developers are ready to begin the design process once the decision has been made to create or upgrade a software program This step produces specifications docu menting the details of the software to be written by programmers Developers use the problem solving steps described earlier in this chapter to determine appropri ate s
35. the very product of the business itself is Technology Issues gt Team Problem Solving dependant upon a database Describe in a written report how each employee interacts with the database and show how the database forms the core of the overall operation of the organization In groups brainstorm possible solutions to the issues presented 1 In the near future assume that most people will have access to high speed Internet connec tions You plan to run a dot com service to pro vide downloadable music e books and videos to the public for a fee What kind of database would you use to do this What kind of fee would you charge a monthly subscription fee or a per use fee How much do you think your customers would pay to download music 2 You have been directed to price a database system for a network of ten workstations A database license will be needed along with two laser printers You have technical staff able to perform the installation and setup so you only need to price the software license and the printers Research Web sites such as buy com and gogocity com to compare prices Mining Data gt Internet Research and Reporting Conduct Internet searches to find the information described in the activities below Write a brief report summarizing your research results Be sure to document your sources using the MLA format see Chapter 1 page 42 to review MLA style guidelines 1 It has long been a fear of pr
36. to allow nonprogrammers to assist in a programming effort Project managers analytical chemists and various types of engineers often need to use computers in specialized ways that require some programming RAD techniques reduce the level of knowledge these individuals require Programming Development and Documentation Tools Software developers have a variety of tools at their disposal to make their jobs easier For example at some point all programs must be translated from their original source code into machine code so they can be executed Tools such as compilers interpreters and debuggers are used to handle this translation task and fix any errors that may result Some of these tools are freeware while oth ers cost thousands of dollars Their capabilities also vary greatly When decid ing which tools to use a company or individual should consider a tool s cost user friendliness and the performance of programs produced using the tool Another important factor is whether or not the user is already familiar with the tool Any training required must be included when calculating the tool s total cost A sound purchasing decision can be made once all of these factors have been considered Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 555 556 Compilers and Interpreters Almost all computer languages come equipped with a compiler A compiler is a program that translates programming language source code into machine code the languag
37. widespread use it is declared gold and released to the public A gold release is also referred to as a generally available release of the software The software life cycle now goes back to the beginning phases as software developers think of new ways to improve the product The cycle continues until a new version revision of the original product is ready for release Software usually has major releases and minor revisions Versions of soft ware typically represent the major release and minor revision For example Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 01 is a newer minor revision of Acrobat Reader 6 0 which is a major release after Acrobat Reader 5 1 CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Major Programming Languages The very first programming language was machine code since it is the language that computers use for their internal operations Programming in machine code is difficult because it consists entirely of numbers Assembly language was invented to make programming easier by attaching symbols and words to represent the numbers in machine code Since the appearance of the first assembly language hundreds of high level programming languages have been created but only a few are used extensively for professional work today Some of the most popular pro gramming languages currently in use include C C Visual Basic Java and script languages such as the many variants of HTML Some languages dating back to the 1960s including COB
38. www emcp net CUT4e Niche information systems are designed for specific applications such as running an auto body repair shop 459 IT Under the Big Top BACK IN 1984 a group of street performers in Montreal banded together to form a show In years since this small troupe of jugglers stilt walkers and fire eaters has grown into a mind blowing spectacle of music and move ment the world famous Cirque du Soleil The circus company now has eight shows touring the globe in addition to ten onset Stages Its extensive operations demand a technological approach to monitoring the artistic efforts that go into each performance The company s online database called Cirque Memory is accessible in five lan guages and covers six applications The casting detailed photos and instructions and a cos tume database catalogs costume sizes colors locations and alteration notes The Medi Cirque file tracks employee health and reha bilitation programs Kin cirque is the program that develops and tracks fitness training for each artist and act Finally the Act Manage ment program allows trainers to follow each precise moment ina specific act To the more than 40 million people who have viewed the Cirque du Soleil it is an entertainment triumph of seamless music color and talent But the behind the scenes information system that tracks and coordi INTERNET iisip Go to this title s Internet Resour
39. 577 lL SS BR EEE Techno Literacy gt Research and Writing Develop appropriate written responses based on your research for each item 1 Is programming just for professionals As com must dedicate their lives to programming in puters permeate our society many of our inter actions with computer operated devices are actually programming tasks even though we may not think of them as such Common activi ties that involve programming include setting up a VCR to record a show or creating a work sheet in a spreadsheet program How many other everyday programming examples can you think of Create a list of the ones you find Does your school employ programmers Many people are under the false impression that com puter programmers work only for companies that create software In reality almost any large organization may employ programmers to do specialized work on their computer systems Find out if your school has any programmers on its staff What sort of work do they do What languages do they use order to be successful programmers In truth most programming jobs do not involve pure programming The majority of jobs require a mix of skills Being able to handle minor pro gramming tasks such as the building of a sim ple Web page is a useful skill for almost any career What types of jobs could you do if you had some programming skills training What career doors might open for you in the future Investigate the sub
40. ER 9 435 E C x EW Uma Knowledge Check gt Multiple Choice oy m Additional quiz questions are available on the Encore CD that accompanies this book as DA amass well as on the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT4e Circle the letter of the best answer from those provided 1 Modern information systems are underpinned by a databases b spreadsheets c word processors d operating systems 2 Primary keys must be a text b numeric c unique d All of the above 3 Which of the following allows users to enter data a reports b queries c forms d primary keys 4 A n related fields a record b database c entry d field 5 Which of the following fields would be the best choice for a primary key a birth date b first name c last name d Social Security number is a collection of CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management 6 Microsofts DBMS is called 10 a Paradox b SQL Server Ca DB2 d Oracle Querying a large database to identify customer preference trends would be called a maintaining a data dictionary b data modeling c data mining d database administration SQL stands for a structured query language b static query language c statistical quality language d statistical query language Which of the following types of information systems would be useful for automating an office a CIM b OIS
41. In warehouse storage Figure 10 4 Stockless Inventory Distribution System customer site In astockless inventory distribution system deliveries move products from warehouse storage directly to the shelves with no need for a storeroom Information Systems CHAPTER 10 447 448 Using computers in a university library or registrar s office students can access an information system to sign up for classes and plan their schedules for the coming term publishing this includes advances such as print on demand POD which allows bookstores to instantly print any paperback book from an electronic file identical in quality to books printed using traditional processes Office Information Systems An office information system OIS is used to automate office work These are systems that collect store and transmit data in a shared environment An OIS typically provides the following office automation functions e maintaining standard operating procedures e connectivity e electronic data processing Standard Operating Procedures A standard operating procedure SOP is a set of instructions describing how to perform a task Workers follow the logical steps contained in SOPs in order to process information correctly SOPs cover manual and computerized processes including data entry generation of reports and handling of paperwork In a college setting there would typically be SOPs for activities such as t
42. Mane Set Toge Pa Design views PE Seatin pones Fl Pep Mamich Ea Deciding what fields to include in a record is part of database design This screen is the design screen in Microsoft Access 2007 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Databases and Information Systems Networked databases allow businesses to save time and money by coordinating gt Tech Demo 9 2 their operations If each department in a business kept its own customer records I9 Web Databases there would be duplicate entries wasting time and causing confusion If the dif ferent departments share a single networked database information has to be entered only once and it can then be accessed freely by anyone needing it The most common database application is an information system which is a system of computer hardware software and operating procedures Information systems are designed to meet the information needs of a company such as track ing income and expenditures recording transactions sharing resources and plan ning for future growth A variety of information systems has evolved as software capabilities and market needs have changed over the years This chapter provides a brief overview of information systems as they relate to databases Management Information Systems A management information system MIS is used to track and control every transaction through a database A transaction is a business activity central to the nature of an enterp
43. OL and FORTRAN are still used by large organizations such as the IRS the Social Security Administration the federal banking system the military and universities Table 12 1 compares characteristics of some of the most popular programming languages Machine Code As previously defined machine code is the computer programming language that computers actually read and interpret The code is written using a series of binary strings A binary string is a sequence of binary symbols such as 1s and Os Computers can read and act on this code since computers think using the binary system Programming is rarely done using machine code because it is difficult for anyone to memorize the long binary strings that comprise machine code Assembly Language Assembly language uses symbols and words to represent the elements of machine code making it possible for programmers to memorize them Computers cannot read assembly language so it must be converted to machine code by a compiler before it can be used Compared with other computer languages assembly languages run the fastest and use the least memory The chief drawback to using them is that assembly lan guage programs are difficult to write and therefore development times are lengthened Assembly languages are used wherever speed and memory are at a premium and maximum possible efficiency is desired Embedded computers such as cell phones calculators and other electronic devices are often pr
44. Trackers DID YOU KNOW THE GPS COORDINATES for the White House are 38 898648N latitude and 77 037692W longitude Just as you know the exact location of the White House the U S government will soon know the Global Positional System GPS coordinates of your front door within 40 feet Supported in part by a 700 million taxpayer funded contract close to 140 000 workers are busily collecting GPS coordinate data for every front door in the U S in prepa ration for the 2010 census While the scope and technology of this project are no doubt astounding many people are questioning why the information is needed Critics of the program argue that the information census takers collect will make it easier for the government to monitor you and that it has nothing to do with the census The Census Bureau argues that the infor mation will make it easier for census workers to locate addresses will ensure residents are counted in the correct location and will greatly reduce the number of geographic coding errors caused by using paper maps in previous counts Other proponents of the program suggest that in the event of martial law or foreign troops helping out on U S soil emergency teams not familiar with our language street signs or general lay of the land could use the GPS coordinates to locate those in need Whether you question the potential for Big Brother to use your GPS information for evil or you side with the Census Bureau
45. United States today Since their introduction a series of disputed election results have called into question how well these systems can protect against illegal vote manipulation Compounding this problem is the fact that many e voting systems in current use cannot be reliably audited because the verification of vote totals relies on the same software used to record the votes The National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST now plans to recom mend the use of software independent e voting systems that employ alternative audit methods that are less vulnerable to fraud State of the art systems as envi sioned by the NIST are not on the market yet but will be soon Expanded ATM Capability Automated teller machines ATMs are an example of an information system used in everyday life ATMs seamlessly integrate electronic encryption identifi cation database and financial information systems in order to provide a secure electronic version of the traditional bank teller However unlike real life tellers ATMs in the United States are unable to accept deposits of checks and cash with out the use of an envelope Having to use an envelope is inconvenient and adds to the expense of processing deposits Work is now underway on ATM machines that will be able to accept checks and cash without the use of envelopes and some machines are already being tested in existing ATM networks A new federal law known as Check 21 has given a boost to these new
46. a chip that must be in close proximity to the gun in order for it to fire Peace officers wear the chip in the form of a wristband or a ring their weapons will be rendered useless if they are ever wrested away from them In the future it is possible that these chips could be injected beneath the skin making them impos sible to remove If this advance in gun safety becomes commonplace what advantages or disadvantages do you foresee Brainstorm pos sible uses for this technology in other areas is the person responsible for maintaining and updating the database and the underlying DBMS software to database users is referred to as is the smallest element of data in a database systems are slower to respond because all the records in the data base must be searched sequentially 437 E O Tech Architecture gt Label the Drawing In this illustration identify the numbered components of the screen shown below Table Tools Helpdesk Tickets Microsoft Access reate External Data Database Tools Design CA Insert Rows ZX Delete Rows Ider Test Validation Property Indexes Rules ro Lookup Column Sheet Tools IN E gt Ticket ID AutoNumber Received By Stamp Date Received Date Time Employees Assigned To Text Categories Helpdesk Tickets Requested By TOR Subject Line Text Comments Text Orders Date Completed Date Time Order Details Products Shippers Suppliers E ey z
47. a factory at the last moment before production a just in time delivery b stockless inventory c batch processing d transactional processing 8 This type of information system does not allow users to modify the software a closed system b open system c niche information system d shareware 9 A company that specializes in installing and supporting information systems is called a a distribution management system b system integrator c system development life cycle d decision support system 10 Spreadsheets are often used for modeling data in a process called a running the numbers b expert systems c data mining d batch processing Things That Think gt Brainstorming New Uses In groups or individually contemplate the following questions and develop as many answers as you can 1 One of the main benefits of system prototyping 2 Expert systems have been developed to deter is that it allows users to see how the system mine the appropriate antibiotic for physicians to will work long before development and testing prescribe to forecast the avalanche hazard for is completed Not only does this allow the proj a particular area and to determine whether to ect team to ensure that the system will meet approve a credit application Expert systems are the users requirements but it also makes the particularly useful when determining whether the users feel more comfortable about the project outcome may be costly
48. a list of program errors that may be present An interpreter differs from a compiler in that it trans lates instructions one by one as the source code is being executed A debugger is a software tool that helps programmers find errors quickly Documentation consists of written notes that explain how a program works Several tools exist to help with the creation of documentation includ ing flowcharts CASE tools and comments What types of programming errors are found in programs The main types of errors programmers must iso late and fix one by one to get a program working are syntax errors logic errors run time errors and style errors Hacking code means that pro grammers are writing code without carefully plan ning and structuring their programs What are the steps in the software development life cycle The software development life cycle SDLC is used in the creation testing and release of new software products The cycle includes the proposal and planning design implementation testing and public release phases What are examples of major programming languages The very first programming language was machine code Assembly language was invented to make programming easier by attaching symbols and words to represent the numbers in machine code Since the appearance of the first assembly language hundreds of high level programming languages have emerged Some programming languages date back to the 1960s incl
49. accounting department record in your database then all the employee records that listed a key to the accounting department would have an invalid reference to a record that no longer existed To make sure this doesn t happen referential integrity confirms that when you delete a record other records are not depending on it for part of their data to be valid To continue with our example in order to delete the accounting department record without an error you would have to first delete all the employees or move them to a different department before the database would allow the deletion of accounting Range Checks A range check is a simple error checking system usually per formed on numeric data entries For example to reduce errors in birth date entries a range check could be created specifying that no birth dates prior to 1890 be accepted since it is very unlikely that anyone born before that date is still alive Alphanumeric Checks When entering a value for a field only certain characters may be allowed An alphanumeric check allows only letters of the alphabet and digits to be entered This would prevent users from entering incorrect characters such as dollar signs in a customer home address field Microsoft Office Access O ee Thevalue you entered isn t valid for this field For example you may have entered text in a numeric field or a number that is larger than the FieldSize setting permits Data vali
50. ain stages planning design implementation and support The sys tem development life cycle SDLC process is a circular process meaning that once the last stage is reached the planners return to the beginning and repeat the process A feasibility study is conducted investigating how difficult the project might be to complete and how much it might cost If management decides to hire a systems house a request for proposal RFP will be sent to one or more possible suppliers In most cases the project team creates a functional specification describ ing what the system must be able to do Design specifications detail the hardware and software necessary to execute the functions A prototype is a miniprogram that demonstrates the user inter face and functionality of the system Beta testing is a period during which the system is rigorously tested before it is completely trusted to function as designed User training normally takes place at the same time as beta testing All of these things can cause the development team to be called on to create an emergency patch or correction to the system A system goes into the support stage KeyTerms gt Numbers indicate the pages where terms are first cited in the chapter An alphabet ized list of key terms with definitions in English and Spanish can be found on the Encore CD that accompanies this book In addition these terms and definitions are included in the end of book glossary
51. and Information Management Terms Check gt Matching r si For additional practice go to the Internet Resource Center for this title Wos at www emcp net CUT4e for a chapter crossword puzzle Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each numbered item a data contamination f database management system DBMS b primary key g record locking c table h query d multimedia database i field e data validation j redundancy 1 The smallest element of data in a database 2 A question posed to a database 3 In a relational database the term used to describe what is called a file in other database models 4 This feature allows only one person to use or modify a record at a time 5 Errors that are multiplied and carried to other parts of a database and possibly to other databases ___ _ 6 This type of database is used to handle video graphic and music files __ _ 7 The field used to uniquely identify each record __ _ 8 Two records containing identical information would be found using this type of check 9 A set of tools that database designers and administrators use to structure the database system __ 10 This is performed to prevent errors from entering a database Technology Illustrated gt Identify the Process What process is illustrated in this drawing Identify the process and write a paragraph describing it Database and Information Management CHAPT
52. and receiving error when running AptSalOwe from main switchboard Date Completed Send Ticket to Assignee Ticket Assigned Record H Lot ae ae Search A form is an easy way to input data into a database table Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 421 422 A report is a formatted body of output from a database It can be generated by request or automatically This report was created from a database of an online assessment tool Exam Summary Wizard 1 Select Exams O select an Chapter 1 Always Available Scored A Chapter 2 Jan 29 2010 10 34AM to Jan 30 2010 10 34AM Scored Chapter 3 Always Available Scored Chapter 9 Always Available Practice Chapter 10 Always Available Scored New Chapter 1 Feb 16 2010 7 20PM to Feb 17 2010 7 20PM Scored v Hold the CTRL Key for Multiple Selections 2 Choose Viewing Options Primary Sort Rank v Ascending Descending Secondary Sort Cumulative Score Y Ascending Descending show Ren Exam Summary No Bam Title Exam Date Cumulative Score Chapter 9 Practice 21 3 2010 00 00 57 O 0 5 20 2N0 13 2 5 at 10 17 PM New Chapter 1 Practice 16 2 2010 00 00 33 60 3S O 0M 60 3 5 at 7 36 PM Chapter 10 Practice 12 2 2010 00 00 17 70 70 0 00 70 710 at 1 20 PM Sig Word Specialist Sample Practice 23 3 2010 00 00 26 0 ONO 20 8 40 16 8 50 at 3 31 PM they are us
53. anize I Database data Traditional databases organize data in a hierarchical fashion containing Structure information about entities in the form of fields records and files Figure 9 1 illus trates this hierarchy Entities An entity is a person place thing or event Database files record information about different entities using fields records and files A typical entity might be a sales transaction that describes products removed from inventory and the amount of money received for those products Other examples of entities include student grades traffic violations and telephone records Fields The smallest element of data in a database is a field A field is a single value such as a name address or dollar amount A field generally has three attributes Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 403 w smallest element of the database a collection of related fields a collection of all the records of the same type a collection of the data in all of the data files Figure 9 1 Traditional Database Hierarchy A traditional database as shown above organizes data in a hierarchy The field is the smallest element Fields are located within a record and records are organized in a data file The database is made up of a collection of data files e data type usually numeric or text numbers and letters e name assigned by the person developing the database e size the number of characters that can be
54. are perl practical extraction and report language VBScript a scripting language loosely based on Visual Basic and JavaScript developed by Sun Microsystems See Figure 12 12 for a sample of JavaScript JavaScript can run as an interpreted script over the Internet or as a compiled executable program DHTML Dynamic HTML DHTML allows Web page designers to alter the con tents of a Web page screen dynamically Dynamically refers to the fact that viewer actions can be used to change the contents of a Web page DHTML also displays faster than older pages built with HTML Pages created using DHTML are usu ally higher quality in appearance and are more graphically responsive to user actions For example buttons may light up when the mouse passes over them or graphics might change depending on the position of the mouse DHTML uses an object oriented programming model called document object model DOM A oc Gu le mpi mer emepcem coibege resource centers nde phg Groupie vite x T pe WP EMCO magn Cottage Rereurce Carter Paradigm Resource Center COLLEGE Main Page me awn erp com college resource content noe pre ireng ienn Pretenes Mese On Sims o CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages lt HEAD gt lt SCRIPT LANGUAGE JavaScript gt lt Comment This JavaScript Code will cause three buttons to appear that can change the background color when clicked gt lt Begin function newcolor aCol
55. art of the development team The information system will normally use an existing software package but customization will be required to make everything work as desired For example an oil refinery and a grocery store might purchase the same generic information system package but in both cases many modifications would have to be made to make the software meet their needs A company that can use niche package software precisely tailored to their industry can save considerable time and money Hardware and Software Purchasing All of the required hardware and software must be purchased and delivered before any system can be installed and con sidered up and running In most cases the software and service costs far out weigh the hardware costs as the service requires many hours of highly skilled labor Integrating all of the system s computers and software and getting the entire system to work as planned involves significant expenditures of financial and human resources Installation and Testing Beta testing begins once the computers and software are installed and operating Beta testing is a period during which the system is rigor ously tested before it is completely trusted to function as designed Any previ ously installed information systems are usually still in operation and information from the old system can be moved to the new one during this time In the Big Engines case the company would probably choose one of their many factor
56. ases An object oriented database stores data in the form of objects units of object oriented programming logic Each object contains both the data related to the object such as the fields of a record and the actions that the user might want to perform on that object A record object created for a payroll department might contain the salary of an individual along with the cal culations required to withhold taxes and print out a paycheck Object oriented databases allow for faster development and access times speeding up database functions and making their development easier Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 415 416 SUA wus Relstionship Teol Felationchips Micrenett Access 2 ret m naa y E nm Create Lstema Data Database Tools Detign a Property shert s TET nii IG Sanehboara Manager sm ty ie r loi 4 uf tect Dependencie a a GFF Set Database Password Visual elatinnehig SQL Aecess Entode Decode Ta nee Uren aed Reseeation ok Mersage Bar FA serves Owtadase Owtadate Nana E Aca ins MOL P tmuttiont Options Micro Showtide Analyte Move Data Outabaie Tools Adredruntet Suppien T Suppe Companytiane V ramio vo T Futam a Contecthione Product Presuctld Ore Corea heme Conenertine T Productio UnitPrice CurtemertO Contactrimene i accress Peoducttiane Queceay EnoteyeeiD ContactTitte City Suppteld Discount Orare adarets State Cateporld FequrecDate City Region Quantity ShippedDate State v do UnaPr
57. at attempts to model an expert s knowledge of a topic An expert system contains a set of facts and rules about a specific complex application called a knowledge base The system will make recommendations after posing a series of focused questions to the user Expert systems exist to aid doctors in diagnosing rare diseases to help geologists find oil and mineral deposits and to troubleshoot network connections They qualify as decision support systems but they are also a major component of the field of artificial intelligence For more information concerning expert systems see the section on artificial intelligence in Chapter 13 CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Online Analytical Processing An online analytical processing OLAP sys tem defines and clarifies methods of handling what if questions posed to large databases as well as to massively distributed data systems such as the Internet Originating from a white paper commissioned by Arbor Software and written by Dr E F Codd in 1993 this new software class has fostered the development of a variety of software packages The field has yet to completely evolve but the major thrust of the technology is focused on providing better ways to analyze the mass of data now pouring into databases thus producing more useful results The information gained from the effective use of OLAP systems is called business intelligence BI Some examples of business intelligence large corporations use
58. ata warehouse rather than an operational database deleting a record does not make sense unless the grades were entered in error and need to be corrected Sorting Records Sorting is a critical function for any database and involves arranging records in a particular order such as alphabetically or numerically When a record is added to a file for example the file must be sorted so that the results can be more easily searched A phone book is an example of a set of printed data that is sorted alpha betically It is easy to imagine how difficult it would be to find a specific phone number if the listing was not alphabetized Sorting data in a database based on the ordering of a key field greatly reduces the amount of time it takes to find any one record Most database systems sort records automatically on the basis of their primary key Social security numbers are used in many colleges as primary keys as they are unique and don t require a student to learn a new number However sorting records by primary key isn t helpful if the primary key for a student is unknown If a professor wished to change a grade for a student but didn t know that student s social security number it could take a long search to find that one record In that case the database could be sorted by name and the results searched to isolate the correct student Database Administration Many factors affect database performance and thus the quality of the informa
59. c tion Cashiers take orders enter them into computer workstations and perform monetary transactions The cash registers are actually sophisticated networked com puters They transmit work orders to the kitchen where the orders are displayed on CHAPTER 10 Information Systems hardware network data Figure 10 1 Information System An information system is a combination of people hardware software computer networks and data that organizations use to manage daily and long term operations overhead terminals so that the cooks know what food to prepare The information system database automatically removes items from inventory as they are sold The information that the database processes can be used to create reports cov ering a variety of topics With a few keystrokes a restaurant owner can know the day s financial transactions what items need to be reordered and which products are selling well Marketing people in company headquarters can use this infor mation to increase the restaurant s competitiveness by deciding which products should be discontinued promoted or possibly sold at a reduced price Meeting Business Needs with Information Systems Why do companies use information systems The simple answer is that comput erized information management increases productivity and efficiency making companies more competitive Computer based information systems offer four key advantages over traditional precomputer
60. calping Germany took many other safety measures as well Thousands of troops were on alert Fifteen thousand private security specialists were hired for the games Airspace over all the matches was closed But the use of database and wireless devices were the hands on technologies that helped deliver a safe and secure soccer scene for the 2006 World Cup in Germany Office Information Systems First popularized in the 1960s the concept of an office information system OIS was billed as a replacement for paper based information systems An electronic office is an office that implements an OIS Many people thought that the advent of electronic offices would lead to paperless offices Unfortunately computer sys tems tend to generate more paper documents than their noncomputerized counter CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management parts This is in large part due to the ease with which printers can now churn out documents as compared with the precomputer era when documents would have been typed manually The electronic office today is the norm rather than the exception Most organi zations of any size use a computerized OIS to manage their operations For exam ple a shipping company OIS may hold records for every customer and corporate account and may use them to identify key clients When an important client calls in the receptionist can look him up in the database and immediately direct his call to the right agent Clerks
61. can also quickly access company work orders and check the status of any client orders Decision Support Systems A decision support system DSS is another common form of information sys tem Rather than simply tracking the day to day operations of a business a DSS is designed to help management make decisions about an operation A DSS might include a predictive model of the business that allows managers to work with what if scenarios If a business is considering expansion or the release of a new product a DSS can help determine if the change would be likely to succeed or fail The database could provide information on past performance which the business owners could use to judge the cost of the expansion and any changes to revenue that might result Factory Automation Systems Computer aided manufacturing CAM and computer integrated manufactur ing CIM are information systems that support factory automation Generally CAM refers to systems that run an assembly line directly controlling the manufac turing process from the shop floor level of conveyor belts and robots CAM sys tems form a portion of a complete CIM system a higher level concept indicating a CIM and CAM systems are used to automate manufacturing Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 409 410 system that controls a manufacturing process from beginning to end The database at the core of these systems stores information about factory operations
62. ce Center and read the article titled Support Contracts www emcp net CUT4e 460 directory tracks 20 000 performers and their careers a make up application contains nates the innumerable creative details also deserves some applause expensive to upgrade turnkey systems to take advantage of any improvements when the underlying technology changes System Support The level of technical support is a key issue whatever the system under consider ation Questions to be considered include whether or not installation staff training and on site service and repair are included in the system package If not the cost of these services needs to be investigated and factored into any calculation of the total cost All too often a call for technical assistance is likely to end up in a voice mail holding pattern for hours with the caller paying a per minute charge for assistance The need for technical support and maintenance is a given so it is important that the level of support be a known quantity before purchasers sign on the dotted line The Process of Developing a New Information System Identifying and assembling employees with the skills and expertise required to develop a new in house information system is a necessary first step A busi ness systems analyst is involved in the early phases of systems development Through interviews with management and users the analyst defines the busi ness problem and plans a solution In res
63. cles related gr WS to this chapter and complete the corresponding activities The article titles include e Tutorial 12 1 Logic Tables and Control Structure e Tutorial 12 2 Linear Programming and Simplex Method e Tutorial 12 3 Object oriented Programming e Tutorial 12 4 Working with Pseudocode and Flowchart Documents Terms Check gt Matching For additional practice go to the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT38e for a chapter crossword puzzle Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each numbered item a Visual Basic f RAD b compiler g pseudocode c ifthen statements h syntax d looping i crash bug e machine code j interpreter 1 A severe type of run time error 2 Translates source code into machine code 3 Used by software programs to repeat statements 4 The lowest level of programming language CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages ____ 5 A listing of English like instructions that forms an outline describing a program but it does not compile or run the program ____ 6 The rules for stringing together elements in a computer language 7 A program that reads source code and executes the statements immediately without first creat ing a binary interpretation of the source code ____ 8 A language created by Microsoft that is user friendly interpreted and often used to quickly cre ate graphic interfaces 9 One way
64. commodate the expansion of the business For example a small professional office might join with several other offices to form a larger practice Its billing and receiving information may be on one computer database while its payroll and inventory systems may still reside on paper forms The larger practice could utilize a new information system to A well designed information system can make resources and information more accessible integrate all the functions and records of its member For example a physician in an office can offices allowing access to the practice s data from view a patient s medical record while another any workstation physician treats the patient in the hospital Impact of a New Information System The impact of a new information system should be studied in order to deter mine its suitability Replacing a traditional paper system can result in a difficult adjustment process for some employees Sometimes a major information system upgrade has almost as dramatic an effect as did the switch from a paper to an electronic system The major effects of upgrading or switching to a computer based information system are expanded technical staff increased information technology costs increased profit margins enhanced product quality reduced clerical staff temporary disruption While the impact of a new information system has both positive and negative effects the negative effects are usually short term Infor
65. cquiring the system The support stage continues until a new information system is proposed and developed usually years later At that point the existing system is retired and no longer used Return to Stage One The system development life cycle is referred to as a cycle because it operates in a circular fashion Technology moves forward so fast that as soon as one process ends a new development phase begins If mistakes have been made the team might have to go back to the drawing board and return to the planning stage This can happen for many reasons including changes in funding new technol ogy errors in the original plan or other unforeseen difficulties In any case the circular methodology helps foster continual refinements and improvements in the process which in the end benefits all participants Information Systems CHAPTER 10 469 OnTheHorizon ALTHOUGH THE EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY tends to hold a rather steady and straight course with few dramatic breakthrough products there are nevertheless some new directions in ways to deal with information Companies are especially interested in new strategies that produce the greatest return on invest ment including ways to identify and extract information from existing systems and innovative ways to capitalize on current technology Auditable E Voting Systems Electronic voting e voting systems are one of the most critical information systems in use in the
66. d 1960s These printed documents were usually collected and organized in filing cabinets Locating information and structuring it for various purposes was possible but it involved sifting through stacks of paper identifying the desired data and then writing or typing selected items on more paper so that people could analyze the information For example if a health department wanted to determine if a flu outbreak had resulted in a significant increase in deaths within a certain age group workers had to read mounds of death records and manually note the causes of death and the ages of the victims Today the same task could be executed in minutes using a computer ized database Computerized databases have become so useful in all areas of public life that paper based storage systems are rarely encountered The few exceptions are small independent medical offices and some small retail shops but even these busi nesses are rapidly moving to electronic systems The Importance of Accurate Data Databases are records of events or situations so they must be continually updated to ensure that the data they contain is accurate Consider for example the situ ation of an insurance company that maintains a database containing names addresses birth dates and policy information Several different departments in the company may share the database Marketing sends out information whenever policy benefits change They also send mailings to people who may be
67. d layout is used as the basis for each record in the table For Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 405 406 Table 9 1 Common Field Data Types Data Type Description of Data example if a company s database has a record type called CUSTOMER then there would be a record of CUSTOMER TYPE for each customer All the records would use the same set of fields When all the records of the same type are com bined they become a database file 83 CES O AA D Databas Databace Litzen MON Meret Acce ee Home Cese Extent Dots Cataae Poste Saar v Sa inier Rowe fea a T 2 E Povr Pow wy va Daar ter _ x oo Jeso Calan nanay Hore Ore Tests mands Secustty Warring Certann content im the databace hei Deen Gredied Optiecs_ x i Text ips book boa Tite Text Unter the exact title of te book Author s Last Name Text Enter author s last name Authors Feit Nese Text Enter author s hrn nese Puoliarer Coce Text Enter the two dige pubusrer code Book Type Text inter tne type of book ex AC Price Currency Enter the price of the book Neier On mand nner Enter the mer of Docks in stock Hints Properties Ganei koskia Peia Soe w Format i hoarn tagtisa Detett vptye l vehastitn Aste A heks namt tan De up 1064 chuaeecterd bore Watigatinn Tert mduding parer Pres Fh tar hep on fuid bezunes m name tae Jeo agen vet hares ves fas Qupheates E Geeprerpen_ ver Re ttose Ma Comtret PA Sertence these
68. d so that it could recognize them Any deviation from these require ments would prevent the computer from recognizing a string of words as a sentence causing it to reject the newspaper and demand that the error be fixed Logic Errors A logic error occurs when a program s syn tax is correct but the program instructs the computer to perform an action incorrectly For example if a program was meant to add a column of numbers and instead mul tiplied them because of an incorrect instruc Add one to N Figure 12 7 Algorithm Flowchart tion this would be considered a logic error Flowcharts help programmers visualize the steps The program might run but it wont do in a software program 558 CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Figure 12 8 C Source Code Fragment Containing Comments Comments help other programmers understand how the program works A set of forward slashes indicates the start of acomment and a hard return indicates the end of the comment what the programmer intended it to do This type of error is very common and is the most difficult type of error professional programmers must deal with Run Time Errors A run time error refers to mistakes that occur when an application is running A crash bug is one of the most dreaded types of run time errors because it causes a program to stop running or crash If a program crashes it is useless so program mers usually attempt to solve this kind of bug
69. dation requires complete and accurate input This Access screen displays if the user tries to enter a null zero value in a database field Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 429 Consistency Checks A consistency check may be made against previously entered data that has already been validated For example a validation system will indicate an error if a user attempts to enter phone numbers or social security numbers that do not match previously validated information for these items Completeness Checks A completeness check ensures that every required field is filled out One of the greatest threats to data integrity is the natural human ten dency to tire of entering data This leads users to submit input before every field has been completely filled out To prevent this one of the first checks performed on any data entry is a check for completeness meaning that valid entries were provided for every field marked required Incomplete records cannot be allowed into the system such as credit card numbers without expiration date information OnTheHorizon INDUSTRY OBSERVERS POINT TO SOME NEW TRENDS that could mean more data for the dollar less work for database administrators and more efficient systems These improvements will streamline operations and reduce costs resulting in savings for customers and clients Adaptive Database Management Systems Database administrators DBAs are responsible for maintaining the security
70. debugger 556 documentation 556 flowchart 556 comment 557 Programming Errors hacking code 558 logic error 558 run time error 559 crash bug 559 infinite loop 559 style error 559 dead code 561 The Software Development Life Cycle software development life cycle SDLC 561 specifications 562 alpha product 562 testing harness 562 beta version 562 gold release 562 Major Programming Languages binary string 563 assembly language 563 COBOL 564 RPG 564 FORTRAN 565 BASIC 565 Visual Basic VB 567 C 567 Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 573 574 C 567 perl 568 C 567 VBScript 568 Java 567 JavaScript 568 applet 567 Dynamic HTML DHTML 568 Java Virtual Machine JVM 567 document object model DOM 568 cross platform compatibility 568 Extensible HTML XHTML 569 scripting language 568 Extensible Markup Language XML 569 nonprocedural language 568 Wireless Markup Language WML 569 ChapterExercises nesi The following chapter exercises along with new activities and information git pre are also offered in the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT38e Tutorial gt Exploring Windows In Tutorial 12 you will learn some tips for playing music or movies on your computer Expanding Your Knowledge gt Articles and Activities nesi Visit the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT3e read the arti
71. did the latest Windows operating system take to program How many people worked on the proj ect How many years did it take to complete 2 Software is already controlling many objects in our daily lives Airplane autopilots are an obvi ous example of an intelligent program that per forms a task normally associated with human Technology Timeline gt Predicting Next Steps Computer language development has seen much progress during the course of its history Recent trends appear to lead toward super languages that combine features of low level and high level languages and operate as either compiled or interpreted languages Look at the timeline below and predict develop ments in programming languages to the year 2020 1946 Coding of the world s first computer ENIAC is performed in machine code only 1960 COBOL a high level compiled language is invented by Grace Hopper 1964 BASIC a high level interpreted language is released 1971 C acompiled language that is lower level and more machinelike than most previous languages is released 1980 Object oriented programming languages are developed raising the level of modular ity and making the programs more abstract higher level 1995 Java is released as a slightly higher level version of C that runs in an interpreted fashion on the Internet Mining Data gt Internet Research and Reporting Conduct Internet searches to find the information described in the activ
72. ding order THE LOOP A loop is a sequence of repeating instructions A loop works by means of a com mand that tells the computer to back up to a previous command as in the following sequence which loops endlessly printing num bers from 0 to infinity by increments of 0 5 10 LET N 20 PRINT 30 LET N 40 GO TO 20 THE CONDITIONAL JUMP A conditional jump is an instruction that tells the computer to go toa different instruction if a certain condition is met The conditional jump has many uses in programming For example it can be used to keep a loop from repeating endlessly as in the following set of instructions which prints num bers from 0 to 6 5 by increments of 0 5 za l N 5 10 LET N 90 20 PRINT N 30 LET N N 5 40 IFN lt 6 5 GO TO 20 5 END Source Shepherd Robert D ntroduction to Computers and Technology Paradigm Publishing October 1997 repetition is the dullest part of any mental activity Humans naturally become bored when required to repeat a series of actions over and over again This is not a problem for computers because they never get bored with performing even the simplest and most repetitive chores Unlike humans computers excel at doing the same thing again and again very quickly Decision Statements A program that simply follows a linear sequence of actions without variation is of limited use However if a program consists of a CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages decisi
73. down into steps which in the case of a bitmap would be to draw first one line of the grid then the next and so on This process of creating groups of instructions as independent elements is the essence of structured programming One result of applying the divide and conquer approach to programming is the creation of modular code Programmers work to create code modules that handle the separate components of a program Like a single brick in a building each module is a solid portion of a larger structure This serves the purpose of making the code reusable and also helps in tracking down the source of errors When something goes wrong programmers can usually assume that it is not the fault of the modular code because it has typically been tested and proved in use Programs are described in terms of their modularity which is a measurement of how well divided the source code is into individual modules The higher the modularity of a program is said to be the more reliable it will be Modular code also saves time because programmers don t have to reinvent the wheel every time they write new programs An example of this efficiency would be a code module that reads data from a mouse and interprets user input Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 553 Digging in for Good IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A WORM you ve got to think like a worm David Aitel did and as a result he has developed crime fighting worms that spread quick
74. dth of her contributions Born in New York City in 1906 she led an interesting life that spanned careers in the military academia and business Hopper graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 1928 with a degree in mathe matics and physics Two years later she received her master s degree in mathematics from Yale University She earned a PhD from Yale in 1934 and taught at Vassar College from 1934 until 1943 when she joined the Navy After finishing her training at Midshipman s School for Women Hopper was assigned to the Bureau of Ordinance D Computation at Harvard University where she became the third program mer of the Mark I the world s first general pur H pose automatic digital computer The Navy used the Mark to calculate lt a aiming angles for its guns and Hopper and her assis tants often were on call 24 hours a day inputting information and managing the system It was while working on the Mark II that Hopper became credited with coining the term bug According to computer lore she and her team discovered a moth trapped in the Mark II s circuitry and surmised that it was the cause of the system shutting down Hopper left the Navy at the end of World War II but remained at Harvard as a civilian research fellow in engineering sciences and applied physics In 1949 she joined the Eckert Mauchley Computer Corporation which became the Sperry Corporation that later
75. e 10 5 the process includes planning design implementa tion and support but always includes returning to the planning stage to continue through the cycle again The planning stage includes preparing a needs analysis conducting a feasibility study or studies establishing a project team and creating a project plan In the design stage the team develops the functional specifications and the design specifications The implementation stage includes designing a prototype Information Systems CHAPTER 10 TERNET RESOUS Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled The Buy vs Build Decision www emcp net CUT4e 461 462 Systems development requires the ability to work wellinateam environment developing the system purchasing hardware and software installing and testing the system training the users and approving the system The support stage includes identifying technical support requirements and providing a system for updates Planning a System To understand how the information system development process works imagine a scenario involving an automobile manufacturing company named Big Engines Inc Big Engines management decides that their old system isn t working well and they see an opportunity to improve their current operations After recognizing the need for a new system they can either contact their company s own internal development team if one exists or they can c
76. e chances for error when someone unfamiliar with the code tries to use it This technology is a great help with team development CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages projects because programmers can use the objects without needing to learn how they work Simply understanding an object s interface enables program mers to use it Rapid Application Development Programmers began to experiment with rapid appli cation development RAD techniques in the 1990s Since labor costs constitute the major expense in software development the primary focus of RAD was designing methods to reduce these costs by decreasing the time it takes to develop a project Changes in the traditional approach to program development included eliminating labor intensive written phases of the design stage by moving to early prototyping and by using higher level languages Visual Basic Delphi and other high level languages with good interface capabilities are often used to aid in RAD Programmers using RAD follow these guidelines e Use visual development 4GL tools yr whenever possible e Rapidly prototype new projects in order to Interpreting mouse movement as input is an age example of modular code Once this is programmed reduce redesign time other programmers can reuse it e Approach coding with these priorities e Use existing code first e Buy someone else s existing code second e Write new code last Another focus of RAD is
77. e computer chips use A compiler reads an entire program prior to execution and then displays a list of program errors that may be present A com piler can only translate one language and is specific to that language A variety of compilers are available for most languages each offering its own special features An interpreter differs from a compiler in that it translates instructions one by one as the source code is being executed rather than all at once after reading through the entire program Since an interpreter acts on just one line of instruc tion at a time it identifies errors as they are encountered including the line con taining the error Compilers and interpreters have different strengths and weaknesses Compiled programs tend to run much faster in their final form and take up far less memory space than interpreted programs Compilers also offer software manufacturers the advantage of allowing them to release only the unreadable machine code version of their product while keeping the source code secret This makes it popular with manufacturers of software distributed for retail sale Interpreted programs are easier to develop and test Since there is no separate compilation step programmers can click a button and execute the new program at any time This ease of execution and testing speeds development saving program ming fees Another positive feature is that interpreted languages can be distrib uted without a binary file Th
78. e lan guage of choice for math science and engineering projects Created in 1957 FOR TRAN dominated scientific and engineering programming for decades FORTRAN is still in use today in factories and laboratories although it is not as common as COBOL BASIC Beginner s All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code or BASIC is a high level language that is friendlier and more natural than earlier languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN Originally designed as a teaching tool in the 1960s BASIC is still used professionally in an updated form often Visual Basic BASIC is an interpreted language meaning that it runs slowly This drawback is some what compensated for by the fact that development in BASIC tends to go more quickly for the programmer The original BASIC only supports command line interfaces rather than graphic point and click technology A comparison of the BASIC sample code with C code see Figure 12 10 and Figure 12 11 shows why BASIC is considered easier to understand Figure 12 10 Example of BASIC Source Code This sequence of code will print the numbers 1 to 10 Figure 12 11 Example of C Source Code This sequence of code will print the numbers 1 to 10 Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 565 ens amp INVENTOR OF COBOL Grace Hopper THE NAME OF DR GRACE HOPPER could be associated with several topics in the field of information technology considering the depth and brea
79. e networked to a CIM that tracks production progress errors and quo tas This information would be automatically sent to headquarters for evaluation Orders would also be sent from the management information system telling the CAM lines what to produce and in what quantities ol A statistical quality control SQC system uses a combination of data tracking and data modeling to build a picture of how well a factory is operating An SQC tracks measure ments of the quality of a final product and compares them with the conditions present throughout the manufacturing process For example through the use of an SQC a car manufacturer may discover that some supplied metal caused more defective parts than other metal or that one shift of workers is gen Manufacturers of all types use computer erating better quality products than another group integrated manufacturing CIM systems 454 CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Considerations for Planning and Updating Information Systems Planning or updating an information system is a process that organizations initiate in response to a variety of factors Management may decide to com puterize paper based systems that worked well in the past but are no longer capable of keeping up with today s marketplace demands In other cases a company may have a computer system and data bases that are accessible only to a few people with specialized skills A new system may become neces sary to ac
80. e requires a user to register some personal information in order to access premium features on the Web site Many users offer this information without thinking about the privacy implications of sharing their personal data Because of consumer privacy concerns more and more Web sites are posting a privacy policy which typically indicates how they are storing site visitors personal information what they do CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management with it and whether they share it with other par ties However they may also change this privacy policy from time to time or choose not to follow it Have you noticed whether Web sites that you frequent have a privacy policy Would you place more trust in a Web site that has a posted privacy policy Would you no longer visit a Web site or purchase from a Web site if it did not have a privacy policy Is it illegal or unethical for a com pany to change its privacy policy without notifying site users What can you do if a company violates its own privacy policy How would you recom mend that privacy of consumer information be protected on Web sites i vo 7 Learning Objectives gt Define information systems gt Explain why information systems are so widely used gt Identify the components of an information system gt Classify different types of information systems gt Discuss the steps in developing new information systems 442
81. ed News Gosling maintains that his creation of Java started out as Something done for me and friends It s almost a historical accident that ended up do ing what did We had no illusion of becoming widespread and no worry about any particular goal What s happened since then is nutty Gosling recalls that he had no idea the language his team was hammering away at would become an industry buzzword It was more of a matter of entertainment than creating a product Recently Gosling spends most of his time concentrating on developer tools that will meet the needs and speeds of faster processors and more complex systems As the Chief Technology Officer at Sun Microsystems he is questioning how to use tools to help ease the use of these complex systems simulation of a real world situation built into a software application With data modeling systems users can input numeric data into what if scenarios to predict future outcomes For example company leaders can use data modeling to help them decide whether to open a new branch office or to determine loan payments at different rates of interest The ability to visualize alternative scenarios is a valuable decision making aid Spreadsheets Used to Create DSS Applications One of the key drivers of the personal computer revolution in the early 1980s was the popularity of spread sheets as simple decision support systems The spreadsheet is widely recognized as the kill
82. edback If the Subtext proj ect meets it goals it could serve as a new programming model that will simplify work for future programmers Software Writing Software The development of robotics systems for building smaller computer components is the driving force behind the miniaturization of computers Human beings could never fash ion these chips and boards by hand no matter how skilled they are Robotics systems improve each year which in turn allows them to build even better machines This means that the computers are continually improving themselves This ongoing cycle causes computers to grow in capacity and speed while shrinking in size and cost every year Unfortunately a similar effect has yet to be seen in the software development area Software is still written manually and the human mind powers the entire process Since human minds aren t doubling their capabilities every two years the rate of improve ment is slow However if science gets to the point of creating artificially intelligent machines that are capable of writing their own software we may yet see the dramatic improvements in software that we are now Seeing in hardware This is one of the major topics discussed in the next chapter Multimedia and Artificial Intelligence 570 CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Instant Programming The latest trend in programming tools are platforms that allow non programmers to drag and drop ready made modules into complete
83. efforts of five programmers or of more than five hundred structure Each programmer in a programming team is responsible for a small portion of the www emcp net CUT3e final program and team leaders must carefully coordinate the efforts of the team members to ensure that the program works as intended Software engineers typi cally coordinate programming projects while working with programming teams Language Characteristics and Classifications Programming languages contain smaller vocabularies than human natu ral languages and are much less complex A typical programming lan guage may contain 100 to 200 elements words and symbols whereas a human language such as English contains around ten thousand elements Programming language syntax or structure also tends to be less com plex than human language syntax A programming language is therefore not as difficult to learn as a foreign language such as French or German The process of writing a program is similar to the process of writing a term paper A writer chooses a topic and then thinks about how the topic can be organized in a logical fashion to ensure that the paper will convey the writer s intent During the writing process a term paper goes through several drafts which are corrected and updated until a final ver sion is ready Programming follows the same steps but uses a program ming language and computers instead of a human language and word processing software Con
84. efore may return a confus ing array of results This is why customers are usually asked to provide some form of unique identification when they call a company to inquire about a billing error or a product order The requested information acts as a primary key enabling the person assisting them to locate records quickly If a service representative asked for a name he would have to sort through records of everyone with the same name This would waste time as there could be thousands of duplicate names in a large database Managing the enormous amounts of information in a database would be nearly impossible without primary keys Users may need to browse records to find the desired information when a record s primary key is unknown Data browsing is the process of moving through a database file examining each record and looking for information This strategy is also used when a search on a secondary key returns many results that must be sifted Hunting through the best results returned by a search engine is a form of data browsing Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 411 412 Query Tools Databases are stored in the form of data files until the system needs to per form file processing on the information At that point it is copied into RAM Databases are sometimes too large to fit into RAM all at once so only por tions of the total data can be manipulated at any one time To work with large amounts of data database managemen
85. egrated manufacturing CIM Statistical quality control SQC system is another form of information system often used in plant operations What considerations should he made when planning or updating an information system Upgrading or switching to a computer based information system affects technical staff infor mation technology costs profit margins product quality and clerical staff Companies should also realize that there will be disruptions Once the impact of a new system has been studied and a decision to proceed has been made a new system must be purchased off the shelf or developed and brought into service Outsourcing simply means hiring a third party to handle a project A systems integrator is a company that specializes in installing and supporting information systems What are the important factors to consider when choosing a new information system The following factors should be considered when choosing an information systems package user interface design open system versus closed system niche information system turnkey system and system support How is a new information system developed Because of their large size information systems require the creation of a project team Sometimes the project manager also functions as a busi ness systems analyst responsible for complet ing the systems analysis and making design recommendations Creating a development plan and executing it has four m
86. en the task of preparing a request for proposal RFP to send out to mul tiple systems integrators for the development of a new information system In order for your company to select the best systems house for the job you will need to gather information about how each systems house will complete the project What questions do you need to ask in the RFP to gather information about each systems integrator s project plan and deliver ables Is the timeline for completing the project or the price more important What other factors do you need to consider before selecting the right systems integrator for the job Your class has decided to create an information system to track student contact information and assignment due dates for a large group project Thinking about the steps in the system devel opment life cycle SDLC outline the process you would follow to develop the information system How should the class determine what information should be stored in the system How will the class agree that the system meets its objectives Mining Data gt Internet Research and Reporting Conduct Internet searches to find the information described in the activities below Write a brief report summarizing your research results Be sure to document your sources using the MLA format see Chapter 1 page 42 to review MLA style guidelines An information system operates on your school campus Try to find out how that information system
87. entered A field called FirstName might have a size of 20 characters The database auto matically would truncate any name longer than 20 characters to fit into the field 404 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Medical Records Go HITECH IMAGINE YOU VE JUST MOVED to a new city provider s system must be interoperable and you need to see a doctor What if your meaning the records can be viewed and shared new doctor could access all of your medical by other providers How exactly the records records without waiting to receive them from would be shared is still up in the air While your previous doctor s office What if he or there has been talk of a national network in she could gain a thorough understanding of which all the providers would have to agree on your health history instantly just by clicking a standardized method of presenting informa a mouse That s exactly what the government tion some worry that this would create more thinks doctors should be able to do and why problems than it solves Instead they envi it is helping to fund the creation of a mas sion a network of networks which would be sive new networked database one that would similar to the system used to allow customers contain the electronic health records of every to access their bank accounts from any ATM American across the world On February 17 2009 President Obama Because less than 10 percent of U S signed the Health Information Techn
88. ep programs separate Create an install program Make the install program run when disk is first inserted Ask for CD key Figure 12 4 Example of the Divide and Conquer Approach The top down design approach helps programmers break a large project into manageable parts The breakdown process continues until there are no more steps using an outline format It is often called top down design because programmers start at the top and work their way down to the bottom Figure 12 4 illustrates an example of this process Problem Solving Steps There are few jobs more complex than computer programming Because of the difficulty programmers need to be the type of workers referred to as self starters They have to be prepared to take on programming projects with only vague goals and guidelines to produce a working piece of software To accomplish their tasks they follow a standard set of problem solving steps Identify the problem Analyze the problem Brainstorm solutions and choose the best one Write the algorithm Prototype the solution Implement and test the solution ow AUNE Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 547 548 Dennis M Ritchie IT MAY NOT BE SURPRISING that great things were in store for the young doctoral candidate whose thesis was on the subrecursive hierar chies of functions But despite mastering a Subject completely arcane to most of us Dennis M Ritchie maintains that his c
89. er application that drove early PC sales into the millions People were using spreadsheets for running the numbers business jargon for performing what if analyses on a DSS Many people have convinced managers and lending institutions that their business proposals were sound investments using nothing but a PC and a spreadsheet application Information Systems CHAPTER 10 451 452 A spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel can calculate elements of a business proposal such as sales history and display themina chart A doctor might use an expert system to help diagnose a rare disease 2 i gt goe nsn TOTAL SALES BY CATEGORY eres 765 823 00 wer 2 852 456 00 7 Sore 360 107 00 Souter 51 538 396 00 amp Sores 75133100 Mower 1 009 987 00 3 Stores 557 13100 ELAS 2 513 453 00 310 Stores 136 252 00 Total 7 314 338 00 ii Soret 562 167 00 12 Store 73 210 06 13 Stores 32 308 60 i Stored 492 097 00 15 Store 30 484 pee 1 storen 991 396 00 I7 stomen 165 151 00 Perron 145 855 00 I Serewd 390 253 00 sewelry S163406 00 13 Store i4 774 392 00 Sporting 87 892 00 SAverste eGeteneg eierrvesc sievelry 2 Store is 454 255 00 Housewares 33 689 00 21 Store 16 384 228 00 Boon 74 239 00 Sporting Srocuseeares Socks a Games 22 Storei7 785 335 00 Genes 32 46 00 2 u LELE E E _ 3 si m e Expert Systems An expert system is a sophisticated DSS th
90. erface Advanced data models tend to be more reliable and consistent allowing for greater connectivity with outside systems They also tend to be easier to work with and less expensive to develop and maintain Common data models include flat file relational object oriented multimedia and hybrids Flat File Databases A traditional data file storage system that lacks the ability to interrelate data in an organizational structure is known as a flat file database flat because the database contains only one table or file These systems are simple and easy to use but in general flat file systems are slower to respond because the records must be searched sequentially They also consume more disk space than other types of databases Flat files can be useful for finding information but rela tional database systems offer faster more comprehensive reporting capabilities CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management ID User Name Password Last Name First Name gt i mingdas ppenpepo Solen Mingda mi 2 kimmer Merrifield Kim P 3 klamoure fpa LaMoure Keith E 4 rtosemh Hettinger Rose E 5 gregjw aaa winston Greg 6 franklee anae Lee Frank at 7 hwilson raed Wilson Hannah New In a flat file database a file is a collection of records Each record is containedina separate line and fields are separated by a delimiter such as a comma Relational Databases Most modern databases use a relational database INTERNET mode
91. es Platt ner cofounded the small company SAP in a small town outside of Heidelberg Germany some 30 years ago SAP has revolutionized the software industry by developing business programs that can be tailored to meet a company s needs and run on its own computers In an industry ruled by American giants Plattner s SAP became the world s third largest software supplier Plattner is considered the charismatic visionary of SAP aman with creative insight into software needs as well as a great marketer and deal closer He is a colorful man known for his bitter rivalry with Larry Ellison the CEO of Oracle the world s second largest software company This competi Implementation tiveness extends to the yachting world where the two captains of industry are equally competitive racing their sailboats Plattner doesn t mind taking on Bill Gates either Before a large audience at an SAP user conference in 2002 Plattner pleaded with Gates to adopt Java programming language so that software programs from different companies could work together more harmoniously He used Ronald Reagan s words to Gorbachev dramatically challenging Bill Gates tear down that wall A multibillionaire by the age of 59 Platt ner decided in 2003 to step down as co CEO of SAP to become chairman of its supervisory board Granted recent changes in German law will allow him to be much more involved in the company s activities compared with his counterparts o
92. es has compiled a database of more than 100 000 traditional herbal medicines and thousands of plants and yoga positions The database also contains millions of pages of ancient Indian text national recipes and Indian farming and architectural methods India has already turned back some biopirates U S and European players tried to patent the medicinal properties of the spice turmeric and the Asian evergreen neem but India won the legal battles to overturn the patents after proving that the medical properties were already well known in that country To combat further piracy India and several other developing nations are urging the World Trade Organization to establish a system for controlling how native animals plants and lore are used to make pharmaceuticals or other products The WTO wants laws that would require patent applicants to state the country of origin of any plant or animal used to seek permissions from that country and to share revenue from any resulting product Putting together a system to protect national property won t be easy It would be an enor mous task to track down the origins of particular ideas or biological organisms Knowledge and tradition that have been passed down orally would be difficult to track to their roots The de velopment of a system that would assign property rights and establish ownership would require a Solomon like ability to determine heritage Nonetheless India hopes that by establishing a database o
93. examine databases describing the purchasing habits of local consumers in order to choose the best location Data vs Information The terms data and information are key concepts in understanding the importance of computerized databases Recall from Chapter 1 that data is a collection of raw unorganized unprocessed content in the form of words numbers sounds or images Data associated with other useful data on the same topic becomes infor mation The ability to associate or organize stored data in a variety of meaning ful ways represents the power of database software For example an insurance company might store ZIP code information in its database but a ZIP code alone is not particularly useful However when the ZIP code is associated with other data such as a name address or phone number this set of organized data becomes information that can be used to locate and identify a customer Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 401 402 INTERNET stings Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System NEDSS www emcp net CUT4e Historical Database Forms Databases as storage systems existed long before computers came into being Important records such as birth certificates medical histories income tax files payroll records and car license data were stored on paper before the first data base software was developed in the 1950s an
94. f national property it has ammunition to fight outsiders who want to claim yoga or Darjeeling tea as their own Depending on the amount of traffic that they receive Web site databases may be distributed databases A distributed database is spread across multiple net worked computers with each computer storing a portion of the total amount of data These databases are valued for their ability to hold more information than any one computer can contain and they are cheaply and easily expanded Distributed databases offer advantages in cost expandability and storage capabil esos Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled Data Warehousing and Data Mining www emcp net CUT4e ity A major disadvantage is that they do not operate as quickly as mainframe or supercomputer databases where all information is contained on one computer Data Warehouses A data warehouse is used to store data gathered from one or more databases Unlike operational databases data warehouses do not change delete or manipulate the information they store As their name implies data warehouses function as vast storage places for holding information that can later be used in a variety of ways CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management or x VIED itemen Poe R m Sme bpr Saye toke Oe Pl SHOP BY STORE in a 866 498 7882 vintage Muscian Services keywords o nem e T Returning Customer Sign In Emad Ado
95. fication may require that 20 computer workstations be connected to a secure company database with each workstation having Internet access This document is concerned only with the functions the system will have to perform not with the kind of computers or software that will be necessary to operate the system One part of Big Engines functional specifica tion might demand that the CIM system automatically send a report back to the orders database every time a car is finished and driven off the factory floor Design Specification The design specification spells out how the goals laid out in the functional specification will be reached Hardware and software require ments are detailed including e operating system Unix IBM mainframe etc e data model object oriented relational etc e authorized users discussion of access issues Part of this step requires the development of a data dictionary listing all the information that must be handled and the types names and sizes these data ele ments require As an auto parts company Big Engines might want an inventory of all raw materials used in production They would also want records providing ordering information for obtaining new parts from their suppliers Most important would be their sales orders and customer records Another significant part of any design specification is deciding whether to use pack ou 19 Bu 19 Tech Demo 10 1 Process Modeling Entity Relationship
96. filter 422 Using Databases data processing 422 batch processing 423 transactional processing 423 real time system 423 online transactional processing OLTP 423 data entry operator 424 Database Administration database administrator 425 downtime 426 data corruption 426 backup and recovery plan 427 database response time 427 record locking 428 data integrity data quality 428 redundancy 428 normalization 428 data contamination 428 data validation 429 referential integrity 429 range check 429 alphanumeric check 429 consistency check 430 completeness check 430 ChapterExercises mRESOURCE The following chapter exercises along with new activities and information are also eit Wass offered in the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT4e Tutorial gt Exploring Windows In Tutorial 9 you learn how to customize some of the display settings in Windows to match your personal needs and preferences Expanding Your Knowledge gt Articles and Activities n ESOL 7 Visit the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT4e read the articles related eit Wie to this chapter and complete the corresponding activities The article titles include Topic 9 1 The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System NEDSS Topic 9 2 Relational Database Design Topic 9 3 Data Warehousing and Data Mining Topic 9 4 Database Administration 434 CHAPTER 9 Database
97. gners to build pages that work for small screens with limited display and input capabilities Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 569 OnTheHorizon AS WITH NEARLY EVERY AREA OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY the Internet affords capabilities and opportunities that are influencing the path of programming and application design Among the new directions making programming easier are the use of artificial intelligence to develop software and programming tools that will let non programmers create their own applications Subtext Making Life Easier for Programmers Programming is mentally challenging work Donald A Norman Professor of Electrical Engineering amp Computer Science Psychology and Cognitive Science at Northwestern University has identified two issues that make programming difficult and termed them the Gulfs of Evaluation and Execution The Gulf of Execution refers to the difficulty in transforming desired goals into programming code and the Gulf of Evaluation refers to the difficulty in evaluating in real time whether or not coding goals are being met An experimental programming language known as Subtext hopes to overcome these obstacles and make programming much easier by incorporating cut and paste features with the live text found in spreadsheet programs The cut and paste aspects of Subtext aim to facilitate the realization of programming goals while live text will make evaluation easier by enabling instant fe
98. guage used to describe other languages XML has been combined with HTML to produce the next generation of HTML known as XHTML eXtensible HyperText Markup Language The increasing number of documents being written and stored in XML or XML compliant languages such as XHTML has led to efforts to create and perfect XML databases In XML databases the fundamental database structure consists of XML documents and elements whereas in traditional relational databases data is stored in tables organized in rows and columns Using XML as a database structure means that XML documents can be stored in their entirety instead of being broken down and stored in the different rows and columns of a relational database XML documents can then be retrieved in their original format instead of being recreated from stored data One current disadvantage of XML databases is that they are memory intensive which often makes them slower to process information than relational databases but this disadvantage is expected to become less of an issue as computer memory becomes increasingly less costly While XML databases are ideal for working with XML docu ments relational databases are more suited to storing numbers and text thus XML databases will likely complement rather than supplant relational databases in the years to come Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 431 432 ChapterSsummary For an interactive version of this summary go to this text
99. hat allow the data to be read directly by newer database systems This avoids the need to convert the existing code to newer code saving time and money These tools are often integrated into database management system software Backup and Recovery Utilities Another major element that DBMS systems provide is a method for backing up and recovering lost data Almost all companies keep sales marketing customer payroll and tax records on a database To lose this data would be disastrous so regular backups are made and stored safely If a recovery or restoration of data is needed the most recent backup is used Important backup information is often stored in safes or off site Types of Databases Databases are often categorized by the way they organize data data models or by their function storing information for ongoing processes versus storing infor mation for historical purposes Databases Classified by Data Model A data model defines the structure of information to be contained in a database how the database will use the information and how the different items in the database relate to each other The goal of a database model is to identify and orga nize the database contents in a logical way The data model employed by a database is so central to the way it works that most databases are named after them The data model chosen matters primarily to the database developer as most data models can provide any kind of data or int
100. he DBMS the software that manipulates and manages the database One of the primary functions of the front end interface is to prevent erroneous data from entering the database Figure 9 4 shows the relationship of the DBMS the front end interface and the database 3 Set up reporting capabilities to allow for inquiry and response Because these functions represent the main database information analysis tools they are a major focus of the designer s work A DBMS typically includes reporting features and the designer chooses how and where in the system the features can be used Pam jensen 601 555 2365 a Ll database y management system Figure 9 4 Accessing a Database The user requests and enters data through the front end interface program The database management system manages the retrieval and update of the database itself 420 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Database Objects Tools in the DBMS A database object is an element within an object oriented database such as a form a report or a data filter Database designers use database objects to build the system interface and the reporting features Forms A form is a template that allows users to enter data into the database Forms perform the important jobs of detecting and preventing erroneous or incomplete data input A form can be configured to allow the input and display of data in any fashion that the system designer sees fit Forms can allow u
101. he admissions process entering new students into the information system scholarship processing financial aid disbursements and transcript processing Connectivity Connectivity refers to the ability to link with other programs and devices Connectivity allows office workers to move information faster and CHAPTER 10 Information Systems more accurately from one part of the information system to the next without documents being lost or forgotten along the way Connectivity is enhanced by computer networks that facilitate faxes e mail and other forms of electronic document transmission Electronic Data Processing Electronic data processing EDP is the use of computers to process data automatically This function can take a variety of forms from the creation of new documents to the production of paychecks using a payroll processing system Transactional processing is used for most situations involving standardized data entry such as fast food restaurant order ing systems Businesses handling large amounts of data input often use batch processing For example the banking industry uses batch processing to process the millions of checks and cash card transactions that need clearing every day This is usually more efficient than updating the entire database every time a change is made Management Information Systems With the exception of very small companies nearly every business uses some form of a management information system MIS As
102. he five components Information Systems CHAPTER 10 477 E ee ee eee Techno Literacy gt Research and Writing Develop appropriate written responses based on your research for each item ils How many information systems are tracking your actions right now Research the differ ent kinds of records stored on government and corporate information systems What might the IRS police and government officials know about you from records in their information systems Are your school records computer ized What type of information about you is kept by your school Who is allowed to see your records Are you allowed to see them 2 Is there a company in your community that Technology Issues gt Team Problem Solving uses a noncomputerized information system Find an information system that has yet to be converted to a computerized system Describe the system and how it works Find out from the system owners why they haven t moved to a computerized system and whether they have plans to do so in the future How was it done in the past Conduct research using the Internet and learning resource cen ters to find out how large information systems worked before the era of computerization What kind of systems did large corporations use in the 1930s Describe some of the methods they used and what kind of technology was employed In groups brainstorm possible solutions to the issues presented 1 You have been giv
103. he was still speaking on the phone he used his computer to log in to the plant s network but the nature of the failure prevented him from making a remote diagnosis James told the company s IT staff that he could not fix the problem from his office He knew that they would ask him to honor the support contract he had signed and fly to Oregon immediately There was a Short discussion at the other end of the phone and James was told that the company would offer him 2 000 a day plus expenses As an added incentive he would receive a handsome bonus if he fixed the prob lem within one day The system failure was already costing them thousands of dollars an hour so any money spent on repairing the problem was miniscule compared with the money they were losing James agreed to come right away He hung up the phone packed his bags and raced for the airport On the way 540 he pondered his life as a software programming con sultant long spells of boredom punctuated by brief periods of excitement when everybody wanted him at once By late afternoon James was driving a rental car up winding mountain roads As he neared the plant he winced at the acrid pulp mill odor After a brief chat with the IT personnel he logged in as a system administrator to look at the system log files to find the problem James carefully narrowed down the possible sources of trouble by working step by step through logged events and by questioning the operat
104. hen two users are viewing the same record simul taneous attempts to update a record can cause a problem Record locking is an automatic protection process that occurs when users attempt to edit existing records in a multi user system The system automatically checks to see if anyone else is working on the same record and only allows one user at a time to edit or delete the record During the process of changing a record it is considered locked and the DBMS will generate an error message for any other users attempting to alter it at the same time Data Integrity The term data integrity sometimes called data quality is used to describe the accuracy of the information provided to database users A system with high data integrity is obviously more valuable to users than a system containing a large percentage of errors For example a sales database with high data integ rity will produce mailing lists with fewer incorrect addresses increasing the percentage of sales material that reaches the intended targets and ultimately increasing sales Redundancy or the duplication of data in several fields is an enemy of data integrity Having the same value in multiple places creates opportunities for error when changes are made For example if an address is entered in several database locations any changes to that address would have to be entered in all the locations Another example of this problem might occur if a person signs up more than o
105. her and mathematician Pascal soon became the standard teaching language in universities across the globe and remained the language of choice for students of computer sci ence until the 1990s Pascal is a highly structured high level lan guage that is fairly simple to learn It was popu lar for teaching purposes primarily because it forced programmers to program in an organized fashion and allowed advanced data struc ture definition As a learning tool it taught good programming habits to programmers who would later move on to more freewheel ing professional lan guages such as C Pascal greatly influenced the design of later languages such as Visual Basic and Ada Dr Wirth was born in Switzerland in 1934 He obtained his PhD from the University of California Berkeley in 1963 and taught com puter science at Stanford University Today he teaches at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich Switzerland DR EDSGER DIJSKTRA Dr Edsger Dijsktra a native of the Netherlands contributed much in the way of new algorithms to computer science Many advanced textbooks in the field contain refer ences to his works which he published prolifically in the 1960s and 1970s He is also famous as a champion of the organized devel opment of structured code His theories on error reduction largely focused upon not put ting the errors into the code in the first place If debugging is the process of removing bugs
106. him Rebecca said Good morning and Jerry relaxed a bit Still smiling Rebecca reminded Jerry that they had a busy day ahead No time for games to day she said Jerry could hear laughter from a nearby cubicle as his boss continued to her corner office How could she have known Jerry muttered to himself Jerry is not the only employee that has used a company computer for personal use Comput ers have revolutionized the workplace but they can have negative effects too Company information systems drive operations and decision making but the Internet can also distract workers with its unlimited entertainment opportuni ties Companies often struggle to maintain the produc tivity levels of workers so they can truly achieve the gains of information systems technology The Role of an Information System An information system is much more than computers or software Recall from Chapter 9 that an information system IS is a combination of people hardware software computer networks and data that organizations use to manage daily and long term operations This can include using computerized information pro cessing for taking orders tracking inventory and other transactions Long term operations include gathering and organizing the information necessary to make decisions about future growth and other strategic changes see Figure 10 1 Fast food operations offer an excellent example of how information systems fun
107. ice Snigvia Prone ftoct E Freignt Onducer b apeta ATNA Recuderlevel tnetoyesto sa a e n Cascertinued Lasthiame fisioni Companytenme Fustitene ShipPortaltode Phone Tite Webdaddress Greeting Srinaste MireDate addiett Oetcriptien Picture Navigation Pane Oty State iip prene Microsoft Access shows the relationships between tables in a database Attributes such as the customer number customer s street address and customer s phone number are stored in the Customers table while the customer number would also be found in the Invoice table when a purchase has been made Multimedia Databases As computer storage and processing speeds continue to increase so do the number of multimedia databases In addition to the text and numbers a typical database model handles a multimedia database allows the storage of pictures movies sounds and hyperlinked fields A multimedia employee database file for example could include snapshots of employees along with recordings of their voices Hybrid Databases A database is not limited to employing a single data model Several different models may be used to allow more effective data handling This type of database is called a hybrid database A combination of relational and object oriented database models is a popular form of hybrid database Relational databases can handle only simple mathematical calculations such as addition or subtraction so users may have to use separate ap
108. ied in 1992 Sources Grace Hopper San Diego Supercomputer Center December 2006 lt http www sdsc edu woodka hopper html gt Grace Murray Hopper Agnes Scott College December 2006 lt http www agnesscott edu Iriddle women hopper htm gt CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Visual Basic Visual Basic VB developed by Microsoft Corporation in the early 1990s is cur SR Tech Demo 12 3 rently the professional s language of choice for developing software prototypes or 1 Visual for developing custom interfaces for Windows platforms Programs written in VB Programming are not generally mass marketed They are quick and easy to develop but run slowly and are demanding of resources such as RAM and disk space Visual Basic supports graphic interfaces unlike the original BASIC of the 1960s Because of this feature it is easier to use compared with other languages such as C or C C C was originally developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie for the early UNIX operating system The language was named C because it builds on an earlier language called Basic Combined Programming Language BCPL or B It is a compromise between high level and low level languages containing components of both BASIC and assembly language but is still considered a high level language C programs aren t as easy to read as BASIC but they produce pro grams that run considerably faster and use less space C isn
109. ies to test the system All of the other factories would continue using the company s old system until the new one was deemed satisfactory Once the new system has been approved it would be installed in every plant a process referred to as rolling out the system Ordering and installing hardware for anew information system can be an expensive portion of the project budget Information Systems CHAPTER 10 467 468 E Stonia ESTONIA IS A SMALL COUNTRY IN THE BALTIC that spent years under the thumb of the Soviet Union When it gained independence in 1991 it was free to build its own government from the ground up It chose to develop a style of e government that streamlines services reduces paperwork eases Civic involvement and lets its citizens keep a close watch over government officials One percent of the national budget for the next ten years is earmarked specifically for information and communication tech nology development Big blue road signs direct citizens to the more than 700 locations across the country where free Internet ac cess is available All libraries and schools are also connected to the Internet During cabinet meetings each minister sits in front of a computer screen that can instantly provide any pertinent documents or information Traveling ministers don t have to miss a meeting they can participate from any location via Internet Voting is done on line so that decisions appear o
110. igned for an auto body repair shop The system would include all needed forms and templates such as those for invoices customer service records and insurance claims A major benefit of this type of information system is that it will serve an organization s needs well without requiring a lot of technical know how or staff training The market for these specialized information systems is small which means the price per system can be quite high Another drawback is that vertical market packages often tend to lag technologically and they may not be compatible with the latest operating systems Turnkey System A turnkey system contains everything a business needs to get a new information system up and running The name comes from the idea of being able to simply turn the key similary to how you start a car by simply turning the key to start the engine There should be no complications and no technical skills are required Turnkey systems are usually the best and the most expensive as they are heavily customized and include the services of support people to tailor them to the exact needs of a business For this reason they usually are out of the price range of small businesses Like any custom built product they tend to be a bit inflexible It is very Information Systems CHAPTER 10 INTERNET iisip Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled Horizontal Market vs Vertical Market Software
111. ills b language skills c typing skills d flowcharting skills 7 Ifa computer programmer calls someone a 10 code hacker it means that person a is a master programmer b doesn t program very carefully c breaks into computer security systems d is very organized Source code that is broken into sections for easy debugging and reusability is called source code a modular b low level c script d compiled What is the next step after thinking about a problem and coming up with a possible way to solve it a Try to write an algorithm for it b Write the program for it c Think of as many other solutions as you can for it d Try to state the problem clearly When programmers break a big problem into small segments to be completed one at a time they are using the approach a analyze and algorithm b divide and conquer c push and pull d program and test Things That Think gt Brainstorming New Uses In groups or individually contemplate the following questions and develop as many answers as you can T Do you think that cars will be able to drive themselves some day What different parts of the car would a computer have to control What different tasks would have to be per formed What impact would this kind of tech nology have on our daily lives If computers were capable of programming themselves how would you tell them what you wanted them to do Think of ways
112. ing staff In a few hours he found a defective programmable logic controller PLC module and replaced it The problem was repaired and the plant went back into full operation As was often the case the customer had blamed software for a hardware failure Fortunately James was experienced enough to check all of the possibilities James left behind an invoice for his services and caught the last flight out of Portland James s experience illustrates the key role that software programmers play in supporting our present day lifestyle Without programmers factories would grind to a halt communications systems would shut down and many of the modern conveniences that we take for granted would be unavailable CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Programming Concepts A program is a set of instructions telling a computer how to perform various tasks NIERANE T and programming is the act of creating these instructions Programmers use a pro RESOURCE gramming language to create a program Programs are also referred to as source code Coding is a term programmers use to refer to the act of writing source code Go to this title s Large programming projects are much like engineering projects They are too Internet Resource large for a single individual to complete so they require a programming team For a arena example a professionally released mass market software program may be the Tables and anes result of the combined
113. interested in new benefits The accounting department uses the database for mailing billing Paper forms served as a primitive type of database before records were computerized CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Inventory data and sales data must be accurate in order to manage a business notices Company managers regularly generate reports or information combined from linked database tables to forecast new directions for the firm If a poli cyholder moves to a new address the database must be updated to reflect the change or the information the company uses will be incorrect Any inaccuracy will create an avalanche of problems throughout the different company depart ments and will reduce the quality of the data in the database Data quality is particularly important when considering that summarized information is often used for decision making Every retail clerk for example helps tally store sales Each entry is stored in a database that constantly tracks a store s current status From the company s viewpoint this task is of vital impor tance Sales information entered into the database allows managers to decide what supplies need to be ordered and it provides a constantly updated snapshot of revenue Levels of Data within a Database The ability to organize and reorganize data for different purposes is due to two H Tech Demo 9 1 database characteristics their vast storage potential and the way they org
114. ion Management Data Validation Among database administrators the concept of data validation is summed up by the phrase garbage in garbage out GIGO As explained in Chapter 1 GIGO means that bad input will result in bad output which is why administrators use data validation methods to prevent bad data garbage from entering a system Data validation is the process of making certain that data entered into the system is both correct and complete A database is only a reflection of reality and it is not self correcting It is dependent on accurate input to maintain its valid ity and therefore its usefulness Because errors are far more difficult to detect and remove once they are in a system the best way to ensure that a database is error free is to prevent errors from being entered in the first place Anyone who has ever tried to rectify a billing error will appreciate the difficulties involved in straightening things out once they go wrong There are a variety of techniques that designers or administrators can use to prevent false data from entering a system Data validation checks are methods of restricting input so that false data cannot be as easily entered into the system Vali dation methods include range alphanumeric consistency and completeness checks Referential Integrity Referential integrity involves a check to make sure that deleting a record in one table will not affect other tables For example if you were to delete the
115. irreplaceable data A bank cannot operate if it loses infor mation related to customer accounts In essence a bank is a gigantic database and all of its employees service that database Since modern banks keep few account records on paper any database failure would be a catastrophic event Database Response Time The length of time a database operation takes depends Banks and other financial institutions largely on the speed of the hard disk being used The lag commonly store critical data on backup tapes time between a user issuing a command and the database system taking action is called the database response time Network conditions may also affect response time if some one is using a remote access method to perform database operations This type of delay is magnified in the case of a distributed database as several computers may have to work together to perform the entire operation Figure 9 5 illustrates the lag that is often experienced in a distributed database user z ty database management system database Figure 9 5 Database Response Time Database response time is the lag time between a user issuing acommand andthe database system taking action Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 427 428 Record Locking Many databases are designed to be used by more than one user at a time This is usually achieved by networking computers so that information can be shared Although there is no conflict w
116. is is a popular solution with programmers who can write special programs for the Internet that are many times smaller than compara ble machine code files The smaller size means these programs can be transmitted faster across the Internet On the downside interpreted programs run slower due to the time required to interpret lines one at a time A bug is a computer error The term was originally coined by Grace Hopper the inventor of COBOL When a moth crawled into a computer s circuitry and caused it to malfunction she called the error quite literally a bug A debugger is a software tool that helps programmers find errors quickly Debuggers also allow programmers to examine closely what is happening when a program runs In most cases debuggers are an integral component of compilers and interpreters just as a spellchecker typically is integrated with a word processor Documentation Tools Proper documentation is one of the key elements of software development Documentation consists of written notes that explain how a program works Several tools exist to help with the creation of documentation including flow charts CASE tools and comments Flowcharts A flowchart provides a visual diagram of an algorithm Instead of using pseudocode a programmer can draw a flowchart showing the logic of a pro gram with symbols that represent types of action see Figure 12 6 Today s profes sional programmers rarely use flowcharts as most
117. is organized Can department assistants access any type of student information Could they change data from their desks using the right CHAPTER 10 Information Systems password Is class schedule information kept sep arately from grades parking tickets library fines and other types of information How much ofa student s information is available over the Web 2 Imagine you are operating your own used DVD business using an information system running on a single computer What features would you want it to have and what equipment would you want it to run on How could you use this system to expand your business capabilities and increase sales What portions of the informa tion system would be useful to have accessible on the Web 3 Learn how an information system works at a local store by observing and asking questions during a visit Does the system track inventory Does it print receipts give lists of new products to order and allow for returns What other fea tures does it have Is the owner happy with the system Are there any other features the owner would like the system to have Technology Timeline gt Predicting Next Steps Personal communications technology is growing pervasive making it difficult to hide from family friends or employers This trend is likely to continue as high tech electronic gadgets bring us all into constant contact Look at the timeline below outlining the major benchmarks in personal com
118. ities below Write a brief report sum marizing your research results Be sure to document your sources using the MLA format see Chapter 1 page Research rapid application development RAD 1998 Microsoft releases Visual J as a competi 1998 The XML Working Group officially releases 2000 Microsoft releases C as part of the Visual 2001 Eclipse project begins 2002 Microsoft releases VB NET Visual C and 2006 XML 1 0 Fourth Edition and XML 1 1 expertise How much of the time is a typical air liner under the control of a computer rather than a human Do all major airliners use autopi lots Can autopilots land take off and fly a plane without any direction from human pilots What types of tools and techniques for writing software more quickly are included in RAD How successful have RAD concepts been What kind of improvement in development speed have users of these techniques achieved tor to the industry leading Java from Sun Microsystems the first version of the XML special pur pose markup language XML 1 0 Studio development toolkit ASP NET for Web development under the NET framework Second Edition are released Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 579 580 Ethical Dilemmas gt Group Discussion and Debate As a class or within an assigned group discuss the following ethical dilemma With the widespread use of the Internet it is much easier for programmers to access previously writ
119. ivacy advocates that personal information will become a commodity sold on the open market to the highest bidder Investigate how companies obtain mailing lists and other customer information and describe the kinds of companies that collect and sell this kind of information 2 Electronic databases are the rule in most indus tries but are not as common in some areas such as medical records Investigate the data base situation at hospitals and medical facilities in your area Do they use electronic databases or are they still in the paper file era Are your medical records on the Internet Do you think they will be some day With so much personal information stored in various Web databases the crime of identity theft is on the rise Research various online sources and write a summary that includes a definition of identity theft statistics on the prevalence of identity theft strategies for mini mizing the risk of your identity being stolen and the steps you should take if someone steals your identity Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 439 440 Technology Timeline gt Predicting Next Steps Look at the timeline below outlining the history of credit cards Research this topic and try to predict the next logical steps by completing the timeline through 2020 1914 Western Union gives out metal cards providing credit privileges to preferred customers These cards come to be known as metal money Gene
120. ject of macros as a form of programming Which elements in the proce dure of creating a macro are similar to the steps in developing a program How are the two processes different Using a program such as Word 2002 or Word 2003 create two macros to automate standard tasks you perform in writing research papers or in completing other types of assignments for college courses Then write a summary of your research including a descrip 3 Could a bit of training as a programmer help tion of the macros you created your career Students commonly think that they Technology Issues gt Team Problem Solving In groups solve each of the following problems using the six problem solving steps outlined in this chap ter Number the steps one through six and write a description of your efforts at each step Individual Issues Global Issues 1 Starting a car 1 Stopping an asteroid from colliding with the 2 Making a sandwich earth 2 Providing fast Internet connections and making 3 Deciding what to do for entertainment tonight them accessible to everyone in the world 4 Installing a modem in a computer CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages 42 to review MLA style guidelines 1 The Windows operating systems are the largest software projects ever completed in history Find out what language Microsoft used to create its various products Were they all created using the same language How many lines of source code
121. l program an executable statement performs an action and then proceeds to the allow the program to proceed to the next statement ina programming sequence next statement in the sequence Looping An essential element of programming is the ability to repeat parts of a program A program for controlling a stoplight clearly demonstrates this capacity as it repeats the same sequence of actions and decisions endlessly Looping allows a program to return to a previously executed instruction and repeat it Figure 12 2 The power of looping is perhaps the single greatest capacity of the computer as Figure 12 2 Looping Looping allows a computer program to continuously repeat the same steps such as a program designed to direct a traffic light to display yellow red and green lights at a consistent rate Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 543 544 THE FIRST PROGRAMMER Lady Lovelace DAUGHTER OF THE POET LORD BYRON Augusta Ada countess of Lovelace 1815 1852 became Charles Babbage s most enthusiastic supporter She wrote programs or sequences of instruc tions for Babbage s invention the Analytical Engine and made several innovations that are central to programming today These included the subroutine the loop and the conditional jump THE SUBROUTINE A subroutine is a part of a program that can be used repeatedly An exam ple of a subroutine is a Sequence of instructions that sorts numbers into ascen
122. l in which fields can be shared among all the files in the database making RESOURCE it possible to connect them In a relational database a file is called a table con sisting of rows and columns the record is called a tuple and a field is called an Go to this title s attribute Although many of the element definitions are the same as with a tra Internet Resource ditional flat file system the primary difference concerns the organization of the et anaes the article titled tuples and their relationship to the table they are in Relational Database Compared with flat file models the most important advantage relational Design database models have is that information can be shared extracted and com www emcp net CUT4e bined more easily among different tables In a traditional system an entity s address might be stored in several different records If the entity s address S Tech Demo 9 3 I Relational information ever changes address records would have to be updated in every ates atabase location If any record was overlooked it would contain outdated information meaning that any output using that record would be inaccurate In relational databases rather than having an attribute field called address repeated in many records it would be stored once and shared among multiple tables In a relational database a single change to an attribute would change that attribute in all the tables at once Object Oriented Datab
123. l not far removed from machine language Basically assembly language consists of symbols for the binary commands that make up the instruction set or list of executable commands in the computer s processor Instructions written in assembly language are read into a program called an assembler that translates the instructions into machine language Source Shepherd Robert D ntroduction to Computers and Technology Paradigm Publishing October 1997 An acronym for COmmon Business Oriented Language COBOL is used chiefly for business applications by large institutions and companies It was developed in 1960 by Dr Grace Hopper Although its use is diminishing many schools still require students to study COBOL Originally designed to be an English like lan guage for handling database processing COBOL has changed little since its cre ation It is a slow and cumbersome language but it has a large body of existing code and many programmers are familiar with it RPG An acronym for Report Program Generator RPG is commonly used in business environments particularly in programs for IBM s AS 400 mainframe It is slow 564 CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages and inefficient but simplifies the coding of database applications and it has the advantage of being familiar to many programmers Many midrange and main frame computers rely heavily on RPG FORTRAN FORTRAN stands for FORmula TRANslator and for many years was th
124. ld in terms of scientists and engi neers per capita Russia s homegrown IT sector which receives strong government support boasts almost 300 software companies The country s relative proximity to the United States gives the Russians a slight edge over India and Southeast Asia as the end of the Russian programmer s workday overlaps the begin ning of the East Coast s business day Russian programmers command more money than their third world counterparts but still only one fifth of U S pay rates Russian outsourcing promoters are also touting the country s current political stability and Westernized outlook on property laws antipiracy regulations and legal system as advantages over other rivals The Cold War is over and they want America to warm up to the idea of Russian programmers Sources Loschinin Dmitry Offshore Outsourcing Why Russia Rus Soft March 20 2006 December 2006 lt http www russoft org docs doc 1123 gt Angling To Be the Next Bangalore BusinessWeek Online January 30 2006 December 2006 lt http www businessweek com magazine content 06_05 b3969409 htm gt The Evolution of Programming Approaches While hardware technology improves at a very rapid rate illustrated by Moore s Law the doubling in speed and capacity of computers every 18 months improve ments in software development proceed much more slowly The process is labor intensive requiring that highly trained individuals spend many e
125. lectronic office 408 decision support system DSS 409 computer aided manufacturing CAM 409 computer integrated manufacturing CIM 409 Database Management System Software database management system DBMS software 410 key 410 primary key 410 time Record locking is an automatic protection process that occurs when users attempt to edit existing records in a multi user system Data val idation is the process of making certain that data entered into the system is both correct and com plete Validation ensures data integrity or data quality and protects against redundancy Other validation checks include range alphanumeric consistency and completeness data browsing 411 file processing 412 query tools 412 query 412 Structured Query Language SQL 412 SELECT command 412 joining 412 security measures 412 metadata 413 data dictionary 413 legacy database 414 recovery 414 Types of Databases data model 414 flat file database 414 relational database 415 table 415 tuple 415 attribute 415 object oriented database 415 multimedia database 416 hybrid database 416 operational database 417 distributed database 418 data warehouse 418 Planning and Designing Database Systems systems analyst 419 database management approach database approach 419 front end interface program 420 database object 421 Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 433 form 421 report 421 data
126. less than optimal outcomes The best strategy is to create a list of all possible solutions evaluate them and then choose the best one before proceeding By brainstorming programmers can identify all possible solutions first and then evaluate them to determine the best solution Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 549 Programmers and customers can review a prototype and make changes before investing more time in the development of software 550 Figure 12 5 Step by Step Pseudocode Algorithm for Changing a Lightbulb Write the Algorithm The next step involves clearly defining the solution If it is determined that new software is needed to solve the problem part of this step may include deciding which language to use in creating the program To assist in defining the solution programs are first written out as an algorithm before being written in a programming language An algorithm is a complete list of steps for solving a problem Algorithms usually are written in pseudocode which is a very high level language that computers cannot read Pseudocode is a useful tool for organizing the way a programmer thinks about a solution The algorithm is later translated into a program the computer can interpret Figure 12 5 shows an exam ple of a pseudocode algorithm for changing a lightbulb Prototype the Solution For large projects especially those that are not modifications to an existing project the next step
127. ly throughout a network to protect it from evil intruders Aitel is the chief technology officer at Immunity Inc His good worms are self repli cating computer programs that work their way into a computer by finding the same weak points that bad worms use But instead of delivering destructive software his worms close up the holes behind them The idea comes from the patching worms that hackers use to stop rival worms But the hitch with all worms is that they are difficult to control once unleashed After all computer if uninvited Aitel resolved the problem by programming his worms to only visit computers within a given range of IP addresses His polite worms won t crawl just anywhere they ask a central server for per mission to enter Aitel calls his worms nematodes as in the parasites that gardeners let loose to kill pests in their flowerbeds He has also developed a programming language called Nematode Intermediate Language NIL to help pro grammers develop their own do gooder worms Now if they could only be pro grammed to eat up spam Source Biever Celeste Turning the Worm Secures the Computer NewScientistlech February 7 2006 December 2006 lt http www newscientisttech com channel tech mg18925376 500 turning the worm secures the computer html jsessionid GGIBIMMHCNED gt S Tech Demo 12 2 I9 Creating Macros INTERNET ishing Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and
128. m The Database Management Approach The development and maintenance of database structures and applications employs a methodology called the database management approach sometimes shortened to the database approach Using the software tools of a database man agement system DBMS a systems analyst or database designer follows three broad steps in the planning process Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 Data warehouses allow customer service representatives to suggest new products to customers based on their demographics and past behavior 419 Tech Demo 9 4 1 Create an organizational structure for the data A designer first focuses on I Database Design creating an abstract structure that imitates a real life situation drawing on an analysis of the information needs and the purpose s of the database Decisions are made as to the kinds of records needed the number of fields needed in each record and how fields should be associated to form records Choosing the data type and formatting for each field is another basic decision With the field record file structure established the database is ready to accept data 2 Design an interface that makes the database user friendly Users do not need to understand a database s internal structure Their most important consideration is that they are able to easily enter data and request informa tion A front end interface program makes this possible It interacts with t
129. mation systems should be perceived as investments in the future and therefore they may take time to return their full value Expanded Technical Staff In the short term new technology requires additional technical personnel such as technicians and programmers The transition period can last a year or more at large companies and the company payroll will increase dramatically In addition to paying existing clerical staff to keep business rolling the company must pay new technical staff to retrain the current staff so that they can operate the new system Information Systems CHAPTER 10 455 456 ys Vvv vaea Information technology costs are high because computers need to be upgraded continually making it necessary to consider those expenses when businesses create their annual budgets Computers are not like chairs or desks They do not last for decades they normally last only a few years before they are obsolete Since there is a constant annual cost involved in keeping up with the latest technology computers should be viewed as short term purchases rather than fixed cost investments When pricing new sys tems a common mistake of many managers is to forget to account for the cost of the inevitable upgrades that will be required in the years fol lowing the initial purchase The big payoff of any information system is the ability to do busi ness faster This takes time to materialize and new systems usually aren t cost
130. more technically capable employees cut into any savings Temporary Disruption Another factor that people often fail to take into account is that operations will almost certainly experience disruptions On the technical side hardware systems take time to perfect and errors will emerge as the system is implemented On the human side switching systems is stressful for staff and management alike as few people enjoy having to change the way they are used to doing things Employees become comfortable with their jobs and they tend to avoid change particularly the significant changes brought about by new computer based information systems Internal Development vs Outsourcing Once the impact of a new system has been studied and a decision to proceed has been made a new system must be purchased off the shelf or developed and brought into service The buy or develop decision is influenced heavily by the size of the company Larger organizations usually have in house IT staffs devoted to developing and maintaining information systems Smaller organiza tions usually can t afford to pay employees to develop information systems so they end up purchasing standard software packages or subcontracting their Some organizations will outsource the development and maintainence of information systems to a systems integrator as a more cost effective way to meet a company s technology needs Information Systems CHAPTER 10 457 Home
131. mputer system is down the company cannot function Customers do not like to be kept waiting or to be told The computer system is down Hearing that phrase usually means that a database administrator is working feverishly to solve a problem Major factors that database administrators must be aware of include the corruption or loss of data backup and recovery operations database response times record locking and data integrity contamination and validation Data Loss or Corruption Data loss and data corruption are the most serious failures that can occur in a DBMS Data loss occurs when data input can no longer be retrieved Data corruption occurs when data is unreadable incomplete or damaged Strategies for backing up data are the major method for recovering lost or corrupted data CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Backup and Recovery Operations A key part of any DBMS is a backup and recovery plan Data can always be lost through power interruptions or equipment failure so ensuring that data is backed up and recoverable is an important task for database administra tors To lessen the chance of accidental data loss it is important that backup files are stored separately from original material Tape backups are a commonly used backup method as tapes are cheap mass storage media that can be placed in a company safe for protection They are common in the financial field because bank databases contain valuable and
132. munications technology Think of what might happen next as our communications capabilities expand Add events to this timeline up to 2015 1980 The first widely available cellular phone systems are offered to the public 1993 The Internet takes off and e mail messages replace letters as a popular form of communication 2000 Child location devices are introduced Young children can call for help by pushing a button on their backpacks and warnings can be sent if they leave their school area 2001 E mail messages sent via cell phones become commonplace 2002 Cell phones with digital cameras are available in the United States 2003 Video instant messaging VIM is intro duced combining video and audio with instant text messaging 2009 Google Latitude is launched allowing friends and family to track each other s physical location via a cell phone or PC Ethical Dilemmas gt Group Discussion and Debate As a class or within an assigned group discuss the following ethical dilemma When a company implements a new informa tion system some of management s goals for the project may include improved quality increased profits and reduced staff The participation of cur rent staff in the project is needed to ensure that the new system supports the business properly but sometimes employees are reluctant to support the project for fear that their jobs are at stake If staff is resistant to the changes that the new system
133. n American supervisory boards But Plattner says he is eager to be free of the tedium involved in running a company so that he will be able to focus all of his energy on technology and business strategy The project can move into its next phase implementation once the develop ment team and the systems house develop the design specification and approve the plans This step is where the actual work of putting the system together will be done including creating a prototype and completing the programming In most cases implementing the new system is the longest most difficult step in the process Prototype A prototype is a miniprogram that demonstrates the user interface and functionality of the system A prototype may be created if the proposed sys tem represents a major change or is significantly different from existing systems This step is sometimes skipped but it is often worth the effort as it allows users to see what the final project will look like often months before the completion date Users often generate many suggestions for changes after they review the prototype These suggestions will be easier to include if they are discovered at this early stage CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Development This is the stage where the software programming is done and the technicians ensure that the new computer hardware works This phase involves discovering problems and spending long hours to solve them and it requires hard work on the p
134. n inevitable part of their daily lives Although we may not realize it information systems are all around us ATMs have only been widely available for two decades but they now rule the consumer banking world Gas pumps take credit cards directly there is no need to go inside the station to pay Online shopping allows consumers to shop from the comfort of their own homes At the grocery store clerks only need to slide a product over a bar code reader to launch a series of important actions recording the price deducting the item from inventory and ordering a replacement All of these ser vices are examples of information systems in our daily lives Comparing the speed of these electronic operations with the time they once took to perform manually shows why computerized information systems are so valuable Computerized information systems are continually expanding and becoming more comprehensive as they move into business and government activities that humans previously handled The trend toward consolidation is one of the more striking features of this expansion Older systems compartmentalized informa CHAPTER 10 Information Systems A gas pump that allows a consumer to insert a credit card dispense the gasoline and pay for the transaction automatically is an example ofa convenience that is created by an information system tion and maintained separate databases for functions such as payroll billing sales and work orders
135. n the Internet within a minute of taking place Citizens can access government Internet sites using their national ID card to vote file income taxes access any of their per sonal records in local or federal databases and communicate directly with government departments The government intranet called X Road connects the various information Systems across the country Citizens can also turn to the Today Shall Decide Web site to propose changes to legislation If the site registers a significant proportion of citizens lobbying for a proposal it is sent directly to the appropriate ministry for consideration In its first year twenty two citizen initiated proposals made it into law Launching an e government has been facilitated by the fact that Estonia with 1 4 million citizens has a pretty tech savvy population Sixty percent of Estonians are connected to the Internet and 90 percent own cell phones The country has one of the highest Internet banking rates in the world And because the Internet provides a window to all government meetings and processes Estonia is considered one of the least corrupt political systems in Eastern Europe User Training User training normally takes place at the same time as beta test ing System users must learn how to run the new software This process can also result in the discovery of any errors not detected during the design and imple mentation process A number of things can go wrong
136. nce for the same account Unless there were preventive measures in place this could cause two separate records to be created For example a customer may get partway through an online purchase only to be disconnected If the customer returns and repeats the process two copies of the transaction may have been created leading to duplicate products being delivered and the customer charged for both Redundancy errors are difficult to weed out and database administrators spend a good deal of time using up front checks and data validation strategies to locate them One technique used is called normalization a process intended to eliminate redundancy among fields in relational databases Normalization works to prevent duplicate data storage reducing the chance that some data will not be updated when changes are made Data Contamination Once in the system an error can cause a ripple effect known as data contamination Data contamination is the spread of incorrect information In many situations data contamination can have serious consequences such as in credit rating checks If a company database erroneously shows that a customer has defaulted on a credit purchase it will eventually be reported to a credit agency The customer could then receive a poor credit rating and the company could be liable for any dam ages resulting from their mistake Preventing data contamination is one of the goals of data validation CHAPTER 9 Database and Informat
137. ng for information Queries allow users to ask questions designed to retrieve needed information Structured Query Language SQL is the most popular database query language A DBMS also provides secu rity measures to protect and safeguard data Metadata is information about data and a data dictionary is the term for a body of metadata Backup and recovery utilities provide a method for backing up and restoring lost data What types of databases are available Databases are often categorized by the way they organize data data models or by their function operational databases and data warehouses Common data models include flat file data bases relational databases object oriented databases multimedia databases and hybrid databases How are databases designed The job of planning and designing a database system is usually handled by a systems analyst The development and maintenance of database structures and applications employs a methodol ogy called the database management approach Database designers use database objects to build the front end interface program and the report ing features A form is a template that allows users to enter data into the database A report is a formatted body of output from a database Some reports can be requested using filtering criteria called data filters so that only a subset of the data is presented What are the different types of data processing The activities performed wi
138. ns STEP 4 Support Stage identifying technical support requirements and providing a system for updates STEP 3 Implementation Stage designing a prototype developing the system purchasing hardware and software installing and testing the system training the users approving the system Figure 10 5 The System Development Life Cycle The development of information systems follows an ongoing cycle that includes planning design implementation and support the steps involved and a list of deliverables A deliverable is a document ser vice hardware or software that must be finished and delivered by a certain time and date in order to keep the project on schedule Big Engines project team must decide these requirements before the RFP is ready for release Payments are usu ally based on the successful completion of project deliverables Project planning normally involves a large number of meetings Systems ana lysts must meet regularly with potential system users and management personnel to learn exactly what they want and how their demands can be accomplished Interviews employee questionnaires and simple observation of daily practices are all part of this process Various project management tools are available to help schedule each phase of the project and to determine the priority of each step Project Management Tools The project manager would probably use a Gantt chart and computer aided software engineering CASE t
139. o grammed using assembly language Table 12 1 Commonly Used Programming Languages Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 563 Binary and Hexadecimal Coding TO A COMPUTER all is 1s and Os the binary numbers of machine language that a com puter understands A human being however has a difficult time writing a program or read ing output in machine language Therefore programmers have looked for ways to simplify binary coding One method is to use hexadec imal or base 16 numbers The decimal sys tem makes use of ten characters 0 9 The hexadecimal system adds another six charac ters the capital letters A F to represent the numbers 10 15 Decimal Oo tt 23 4 5 6 7F 8 9 iO ii de ids ita is exadecima 1 4 a om 2 E pol m 2 pme F A single hexadecimal digit can represent any binary number that contains four digits or less from 0 to 1111 For example the ASCII COBOL code for the symbol is the byte 10101011 This number can be broken into two four digit numbers or nibbles 1010 10 in deci mal and 1011 11 in decimal that can then be represented by two hexadecimal numbers AB Thus the ASCII code for in hexadeci mal is AB anumber far easier to remember than 10101011 Programmers have also made their job eas ier by creating programming languages that are less cumbersome to read write and understand than machine language Assembly language is a language that is stil
140. ollege years taught him that he was not smart enough to be a physicist or a mathematician It did however spark his interest in computers and procedural languages After finishing his PhD in mathematics at Harvard in 1967 Ritchie followed his father s footsteps to Bell Laboratories There he met and began working with Ken Thompson and others on the Multics project with the goal of designing a general computer operating system From this project the Unix program written in assembly language evolved in 1969 At Bell Labs Ritchie also experimented with Thompson s B language adding new data types and syntax to come up with the C programming language in 1972 Soon thereafter Unix was rewritten in C to capitalize INVENTOR OF THE C PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE on the language s power and flexibility C s use of modularity enabled Unix to be portable and to execute quickly C has had a wide range of appli cations including in computer games In 1988 Ritchie was elected to the U S National Academy of Engineering and in 1998 Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson were awarded the National Medal of Technology for their work on the Unix sys tem Today Ritchie continues at Bell Labs as the manager of a small research group working to take operating systems languages and rout ing switching hardware to the next level Sources Home page Dennis M Ritchie December 2006 lt http www cs bell labs com who dmr g
141. ology for healthcare providers currently use electronic Economic and Clinical Health HITECH Act records the task of creating this networked which provides federal stimulus money to database is daunting and will take years to healthcare providers who adopt an electronic complete However the government believes system for keeping patient medical records that in the end the system will save money and will likely carry penalties for those who boost the economy and most importantly do not do so by 2014 To receive funding the help Americans live healthier lives The most common data types are numeric and alphanumeric Numeric data con sists of numbers only Alphanumeric data consists of letters numbers and some times special characters Other types exist such as logical yes no fields time and date fields and memo fields which allow unlimited character input The more unusual data types include pictures movies and sound Table 9 1 describes vari ous field data types Records A collection of related fields describing an event or situation is called a record If a record covers mailing information it would likely include fields for name address city state and postal code Files A database file is a collection of records of the same type When a data base is designed and built the designer must decide what records will be used which fields will be in those records and which data type and size each field will have The recor
142. olving problems using logical processes such as the divide and conquer approach and step based problem solving Divide and Conquer Approach One technique to solve problems when developing software is to break down the larger problem into several small problems It is based on the idea that every pro gram is like a giant puzzle In the divide and conquer approach programmers tackle one small piece of the puzzle at a time They work on each piece until it is solved and then move on to the next one Before breaking a large project down into pieces a programmer must develop a strategy for tackling the work The idea is to envision the project in its entirety in order to view the larger elements that must be handled first This process is repeated until the entire project is reduced to a long series of small steps each involving smaller and smaller elements The entire process can be documented Before beginning programming work a programmer must be able to communicate with the company s business leaders to understand the scope and needs of a project CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Design graphic image displays Design mouse cursor movement Create a standardized set of interface options Support mouse Create file system Support video cards Support add on cards such as sound cards Multiple programs Load programs into memory when icons are double clicked Make sure there is enough memory and ke
143. on statement a point in a program where different actions may be per formed depending on specific conditions the program can be more useful For example the stoplight program show in Figure 12 2 can be more helpful to pedes trians if the pattern can be interrupted when a pedestrian wants to cross the street As illustrated in Figure 12 3 the program can be designed so that a crosswalk but ton controls the stoplight behavior using an if then statement This statement allows the program to perform differently depending on whether or not the button has been pressed Computers make decisions by comparing values in variables and then performing different sequences of actions depending on the outcome Figure 12 3 A Decision Statement s Effect on Program Looping Using an if then statement based on a particular action such as pushing the crosswalk button a program can interrupt the looping pattern making the program more useful Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 545 546 Problem Solving Techniques Programming is a problem solving process For programmers this means that technical knowledge alone is not enough In order to be truly successful they must be creative analytical thinkers In many cases the technical details of a project are too complex for managers to deal with so employers prize program mers with excellent problem solving capabilities Problem solving is as much an art as a science but there are techniques for s
144. on support systems DSS 1 The process performed to ensure that a new information system is working properly 2 The document describing the software and hardware needed for any new information system 3 The practice of hiring technical consultants from other companies to help with information systems development ___ _ 4 A graphic depiction of the steps in an information system development schedule ____ 5 A procedure required with any new information system so that people can learn how to do their jobs 6 Systems built to perform data modeling and provide what if analysis 7 An early step in information systems development which allows people to see in advance what the final system will look like and how it will operate 8 An expensive custom system that is easy to use and performs every function the user desires ____ 9 A document describing how a new information system will operate __ 10 A new distribution strategy that uses an information system to maintain inventories with daily deliveries of product CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Technology Illustrated gt Identify the Process What process is illustrated in this drawing Identify the process and write a paragraph describing its use Knowledge Check gt Multiple Choice S Eii Additional quiz questions are available on the Encore CD that accompanies this book D Ci WAGE as well as on the Interne
145. onment for their employees it is only a matter of time Porter says before employer pressure is cited in court as a factor in an employee s Internet addiction quickly hooked combine cell phone with wireless Internet Many employees encour age or even insist that employees be acces sible at all times Porter suggests that such Source Rutgers Camden Research Employers Beware Techno Addicts May Be More Liability than Boon Rutgers August 9 2006 December 2006 lt http ur rutgers edu medrel viewArticle html ArticlelD 5284 gt aspect of the main Web pages Then the customer requesting the Web site can review these pages This provides the customer with something tangible to look at before deciding on the final design It is much easier for the programmer to make changes at this point rather than later when the complex programming logic has already been coded A prototype is a much less expensive way to make this deter mination than completing the entire project Implement and Test the Solution Once a successful prototype has been cre ated the next step is to fully solve the problem This is where the program is actu ally coded It is usually the most difficult and complex step in programming especially if the problem is relatively new and unknown Testing the solution fre quently as each step of the algorithm is translated into a program helps ensure fast and accurate development During the implementa
146. ontact an outside vendor Suppose Big Engines is considering an upgrade to their existing CIM A fea sibility study would be conducted to investigate how difficult the project might be to complete and how much it might cost A large automobile company like Big Engines is almost certain to have its own internal development team However the internal team may recommend hiring a systems house if the project is beyond their capabilities or if the team is too busy handling existing problems If management decides to hire a systems house a request for proposal RFP will be sent to one or more possible suppliers The systems houses would then send representatives to determine what is required before quoting a price In the case of larger more expensive projects systems houses might be asked to bid on the job meaning that they must examine the proposal thoroughly before provid ing an estimated price for completion of the system The lowest qualifying bidder meeting with company approval gets the job Project Plan Part of the RFP involves the development of a project plan which includes an estimate of how long the project will take to complete an outline of CHAPTER 10 Information Systems STEP 1 Planning Stage preparing a needs analysis conducting a feasibility study or A studies establishing a project ee team and creating a project plan Se a STEP 2 Design Stage developing the functional specifications and the design specificatio
147. ools to handle large projects such Information Systems CHAPTER 10 463 464 as a CIM system for auto manufacturing A Gantt chart named after Henry Gantt is a bar chart showing the stages of a project and the order in which they must be com pleted Gantt charts graphically show task beginning and end times and are used for scheduling purposes Setting realistic time frames is very important to the success of any project and is one of the more difficult tasks of project management A CASE tool is any tool used to carry out a project analysis create a graphic specification automatically generate and compile program code test and debug the program s provide maintenance and handle design changes during imple mentation They also generate a project database that documents the information system using reports graphs models and flowcharts of processes This category thus encompasses a large group of sophisticated software packages that automate the design and development of an IS Several software vendors sell packages that integrate an entire set of CASE tools Most projects require additional custom pro gramming however to closely fit the company s information system needs Using CASE tools is generally referred to as rapid application development RAD Designing the System A project is ready to move into the design stage once the project team has approved the plan including the budget The design process begins with the writ ing
148. or document bgColor aColor 8 ORS Mozilla Firefox oO ro SO nenny gt I End gt lt script gt file Users b sktop test html v lt HEAD gt Done lt BODY gt lt div align left gt lt form gt lt input type button value Red onclick newcolor red gt lt input type button value White onclick newcolor white gt lt input type button value Blue onclick newcolor blue gt lt form gt lt div gt lt BODY gt Figure 12 12 Example of JavaScript This sequence of code directs a browser to display buttons that users can click to change the background color within the Web browser window XHTML Extensible HTML XHTML is another improvement in Web page pro gramming achieved through the upgrading of the underlying script language XHTML lets Web designers use HTML and Extensible Markup Language XML together XML allows Web pages to separate their content from the format sup ported by a Web page Thus screens with different sizes and resolutions can display the same Web page content without the Web designer having to write specialized versions for each For example a notebook or handheld computer can show the same Web information in different formats that fit the screen of each device Wireless Markup Language Wireless Markup Language WML was created specifically for small systems such as cell phones and handheld computers The language allows desi
149. ors should be considered when choosing an information systems package CHAPTER 10 Information Systems user interface design open versus closed system niche information system turnkey system system support User Interface Design One of the first things to examine is the system s user interface The interface design should be user friendly and intuitive Critical information should be read ily apparent It is wise to examine a number of different interfaces before making this judgment Information system software is expensive and mistakes will be costly Generally client server and Web based applications are more intuitive and user friendly than mainframe applications However each software package is different so it is important to assess systems thoroughly Open or Closed System Choosing between open or closed system formats is one of the most crucial deci sions In an open system the company s IT staff can alter the system or hire a third party to take care of any necessary alterations On the other hand a closed system must be serviced and supported by the original vendor Because of this requirement closed system support services command a price that can surprise inexperienced buyers Niche Information System A niche information system exists to serve specially focused sets of customers This type of package is also commonly referred to as a vertical market package An example of a niche system would be a package des
150. patal gt Center Check Steck in Gy View z Tana mes Diocese Mea tie ot oo 3 HP IPAQ 111 Classic Handheld Organizer snn with TFT LCD Color Display Silver s Current Otters Uite Crane Only im Tota tuum themory 28 n SN SOLAR 18 tbs wrees marcy SED Asstu Orare Oey ra Cress Srepeg traith Pree tange mo prng IP IPAQ 211 Laserprise Handheld Orgamirer 449 93 wi TFT LCD Color Display Black Pa sccomeews e e Seterrat Protected Mode On a QIN Electronic commerce sites use databases to record price sales and other information about their products today Without databases the Internal Revenue Service could not collect income taxes the American Red Cross could not allocate funds and colleges across the country could not operate efficiently Schools use databases to store and handle grades class schedules tuition payments library fines and other records relevant to education Colleges typically use enrollment trend reports to plan for new courses and to branch out into new academic areas In these cases they might use not only their own database information but also reports from national college associations and the federal government Databases are used for more than routine operations Executives commonly consult company databases to aid in their decision making If a company is con sidering opening a new branch office managers and other strategic planners can carefully
151. pecifications Implementation The implementation phase of the software life cycle is usually the most difficult Development teams often spend late nights and weekends writing code and mak ing it work If the planning and design effort has been successful this phase should go well but unanticipated problems inevitably crop up and have to be solved The end result of the implementation phase is the production of a proto type called an alpha product which the development team uses for testing pur poses The alpha product can be revised to incorporate any improvements team members suggest Testing A quality assurance QA team usually develops a testing harness which is a scripted set of tests that a program must undergo before being considered ready for public release These tests might cover events such as very large input loads maximum numbers of users running on several different supported platforms and simulated power outages Once testing is finished a beta version of the software program is created for testing outside of the development group often by a select group of knowledge able consumers Any suggestions they make can be used to improve the product before it is released to the general public Once the beta version is finalized the user manual can be written or updated At this point the software developer would send the master CDs to duplicators for mass production Public Release When the product is deemed ready for
152. plant operations Computer Aided Manufacturing Recall from Chapter 9 that a computer aided manufacturing CAM system involves the direct use of computerized systems to manufacture products Robots used in automobile manufacturing plants are a clas sic example of this technology Even more common are systems that monitor and report on the progress of an assembly line These CAM systems provide factory operators with information such as temperature readings assembly line speeds and quality test failure statistics Any computerized system that directly aids in a manufacturing process is called a CAM system Computer Integrated Manufacturing A computer integrated manufacturing CIM system offers much broader coverage than a CAM system CIM systems focus not only on the factory floor but also on the company as a whole A CIM sys tem connects the factory floor to the executive offices the accounting department and the sales staff making information available to anyone who might need it A Information Systems CHAPTER 10 453 Automobile manufacturing plants commonly use robots as part of computer aided manufacturing CAM systems much larger form of information system than a CAM CIM systems impact everyone in a manufacturing company from the president down to the mail clerks In an automotive company employing CIM factory lines would use individual CAM systems to help operators monitor and control production These CAM systems would b
153. plications to perform com plex functions Combining relational and object oriented data models allows for more sophisticated analysis within the framework of the relational database The advent of the Web and the increasing availability of multimedia files is another factor increasing the popularity of this type of hybrid Databases Classified by Function The two major functional classifications for databases are operational databases and data warehouses Operational databases are working systems that are contin ually being updated For example a supermarket may use an operational database that is updated every time a shopper purchases an item In contrast a data ware house is a system from which data is extracted and analyzed by a company s staff CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management An information system used in a prison would combine alphanumeric prisoner data with a mug shot image in a hybrid database in order to make strategic decisions A data warehouse typically is not modified or updated with new information It is possible for a database system to perform more than one function at the same time Also these classifications are not generally associated with a specific data model Operational databases for example might use flat file or relational structures The list of database types is still evolving and new classes may emerge in the future Web databases are one example of a function classification that has evol
154. ponse to the business systems analyst s recommendations software engineers and programmers handle the design and implementation of the new system CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Most technical support is provided over the phone by customer service representatives and specially trained technicians Programmers specialize in the development of new software while software engineers are highly skilled professionals with programming and teamwork train ing Their organized professional application of the software development process is called software engineering Project Team The implementation of an information system necessitates the creation of a project team A project team usually includes a project manager who acts as the team leader Sometimes the project manager also functions as a systems analyst responsible for completing the systems analysis and making design recommendations The rest of the project team includes software engineers and technicians The software engineers deal with programming software while technicians handle hardware issues The comprehensive process software engineers initiate is called the system development life cycle SDLC a series of steps culminating in a completed information system System Development Life Cycle Creating a development plan and executing it has several stages some of which have already been set in motion as part of the decision to proceed with the proj ect As shown in Figur
155. prise at her buying a useful birthday gift Next she chose wrapping paper Customized a birthday card and clicked the Buy button The Web site informed Lenora of the total cost and confirmed that the gifts would arrive on time The entire shop Database Basics ping experience had taken a mere 12 minutes Lenora breathed a sigh of relief knowing that this time she had bought her father in law gifts he was sure to like Lenora s search illustrates how e commerce transactions involve a series of online database interactions The initial search for a product queries asks a database for information A sales record is created in the company s database when a payment is made That database then uses the customer s credit card number to access a bank database and electronically transfer funds to the re tailer Finally the e commerce site s database interacts with a shipping company s database to ensure that the purchase reaches the customer without delay A database is a computerized system for storing information in an organized man ner so that it can be searched for and retrieved when needed Businesses govern ment groups private organizations and academic institutions all use databases and they represent the dominant use of computing power in the business world 400 CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Go bestbuy com e mi r x D internet ps PDAs berthuy R 0 a me Begee iiie toke Oe Ea
156. ral Petroleum Corporation issues the first metal money for gasoline purchases AT amp T introduces the Bell System Credit Card Airlines and railroads soon reveal their own similar cards Many banks offer the option of revolving credit allowing people to make monthly payments on balances owed rather than having to pay them at one time Fourteen U S banks form Interlink later known as Visa Card a new association with the ability to exchange information on credit card transactions 2000 Smartcards grow dramatically in Europe and Asia becoming the dominant form of electronic payment Disposable credit cards good for one use only become popular for online consumer purchases Orbiscom introduces ControlPay technol ogy which allows the primary credit card accountholder to control spending limits and locations for various family members 2004 PayPal reaches 50 million accountholders worldwide for its online payment service 2008 The average U S household carries about 8 700 in credit card debt Ethical Dilemmas gt Group Discussion and Debate As a class or within an assigned group discuss the following ethical dilemma Web sites often collect information about a user who has visited a site or has purchased something from the site Sometimes this is accomplished by placing cookies on the hard drive of a user s computer that can be read the next time the user navigates to that site Other times a sit
157. read the article titled Object Oriented Programming www emcp net CUT3e even a benevolent worm shouldn t enter a by analyzing the mouse movements across the mouse pad Once this module is finalized it can be used as a component of any program requiring mouse input A very simple type of modular code is a macro that is programmed into a spread sheet or a document A macro is a recording of steps to perform a repetitive activity Although programming skills are not required to create macros they are stored as a form of source code Object Oriented Programming Object oriented programming OOP forces exacting rules on programmers Essentially an extension of the modularity concept OOP goes further by defining each module called an object with definite rules for interfacing and a protected set of variables For example if a program object were built to handle the time of day it might hold data including the seconds minutes and hours Perhaps it also would have an a m p m flag and the functions that control the setting of the time would not allow illegal values Thus if someone were to try to set the clock using an hour value of 27 the program would not allow it The protected variables are one of the key advancements in programming as they allow a programmer to prevent data from being altered during program exe cution A programmer working with a team sets up rules for the legal use of an object s data thereby reducing th
158. ress Presword New Customer Information My steeping bs Oe same as my billing County pates Sutes Foret Marre Last heme lt eeeery Adaren t icten 2 Peete Code Cite inate Semere finele E commerce Web sites use operational databases to store purchase information and customer information Law enforcement records are one example of a data warehouse with vast col lections of photographs and arrest records on file for reference or for statistical use Companies also maintain data warehouses to test new ideas against past results Many of the largest company databases contain information dating back to the 1950s Companies are increasingly experimenting with these databases using data mining techniques to sift through information and identify previously unno ticed trends The strategy resembles survey work but produces real results rather than estimating future behavior Data mining systems often include elements of artificial intelligence Planning and Designing Database Systems Planning and designing a database system requires a combination of knowledge skills and creativity This job is usually handled by a systems analyst A systems analyst may also become responsible for administering the database after it is built Like a structural engineer who designs buildings and draws blueprints a systems analyst is an experienced specialist who can identify project needs and then design a structure or system to fulfill the
159. rise A transaction can be the sale of a product the flight of an airliner or the recording of a college course grade A database stores the informa tion that is at the core of any MIS system An MIS for an airline flight information display would need to handle flight numbers gate numbers and expected arrival and departure times This informa tion is available to the public and company employees to view The data comes directly from a computer running an MIS Every attendant at the ticket counter who enters data using a keyboard is communicating with the MIS When a flight Strantenes ee es An airline s MIS would contain information about passengers luggage seat assignments and flight arrival departure times Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 407 408 Super Secure Soccer THE GERMAN SPORTS ESTABLISHMENT was proud and excited to host the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament Yet with honor came the responsibility of protecting the large crowds gathered to watch the matches Certainly no one wanted a repeat of the 1972 Munich Olym pics at which a group of Palestinian national ists raided the Olympic village and killed 11 Israeli athletes But when the 64 games of the World Cup were over no significant incidents had occurred due no doubt in large part to the unprecedented security measures and the widespread use of databases to share informa tion among agencies venues and security
160. rm data processing activities as part of their job CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management Data Processing The processing of database interactions can be set up using batch or transaction processing or a combination of both of these methods Batch Processing With batch processing data processing occurs at a scheduled time or when a critical point has been reached Batch processing saves redundant effort by rearranging data all at once rather than continuously A database may only incorporate changed records at midnight each day rather than whenever the new data was entered Massive databases may take anywhere from several min utes to several hours to update Batch processing streamlines the process by car rying out the work during off hours However it can introduce some lag into the system and users are sometimes informed that data will not appear until the day after it was entered When this occurs it is usually due to batch processing Transactional Processing Transactional processing is more continuous and tends to be done with smaller databases or with operational databases that require all information to be very current A real time system such as a factory automa tion or an air traffic control system can t afford to wait until midnight to update The data must be kept accurate down to the second in systems that provide data for these types of critical functions In transactional processing records of an event s
161. rt systems do more than track input data and print summary reports covering what happened during the previ ous month One additional feature is called data modeling Data modeling provides a 450 CHAPTER 10 Information Systems Gosling did not develop Java as an individual pet project its original name was Oak and it was part of a secret mission called The Green Project Gosling and a group of Sun employees were chartered to figure out the next wave of digitally controlled consumer devices and com puters Gosling recalls As we were building stuff it became clear that one of the obstacles to the whole endeavor was the programming language and the tools we used to build the software So my part of the project was to go off and solve the tool problem and that s where Java came from The vision was to build networks of big and little things connected together with Java as the concrete and nails A driving force underlying Java s origin was Gosling s belief that technology and business go hand in hand through digital circuitry Java became the obvious component to enable that merger Sun Microsystem s recent push is to put Java 2 Micro Edition J2ME into wireless headsets allowing users to dynamically access and respond to Web content such as e mail or stock quotes For the future Gosling envisions a plethora of wireless embedded devices and the intersection of Java and cell phones In an interview with Wir
162. s Tech Demo 10 2 Process Modeling Data Flow Diagrams Tech Demo 10 3 Process Modeling Decision Trees aged off the shelf software or custom software Big Engines might buy an off the shelf gt Tech Demo 10 4 Oracle database and a CAM software package such as Wonderware and then employ a large consulting firm such as Deloitte Consulting or IBM to use those products in the design and development of a custom information system This software combination would be able to provide a good CIM system covering the entire operation In general packaged software is cheaper and more reliable but it may not solve all of a customer s needs Custom software is more expensive and takes longer to develop but it can be tailored to the exact needs of a buyer Table 10 1 lists some commonly used commercial software packages for developing infor mation systems Table 10 1 Commonly Used Information Systems Software Software Type Commercial Example Information Systems CHAPTER 10 iv Process Modeling Object Modeling 465 466 CHAIR SUPERVISORY BOARD SAP Hasso Plattner EVER HEARD OF BILL GATES and his impact on the world of personal computers Of course Ever heard of Hasso Plattner His name is not nearly as recognizable but Plattner has had a comparable impact on corporate computing Before Plattner came along software for running a business needed to be custom made and housed on high priced mainfram
163. s and U S government s argument that the data will help ensure good census data and aid emergency responders you cannot deny that the technology is impressive information system development and support work Often called outsourcing Suge Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled Value Added Resellers and Original Equipment Manufacturers www emcp net CUT4e this practice involves hiring a third party to handle the project usually a consul tant or a systems integrator A systems integrator is a company that specializes in installing and supporting information systems As a company grows and its needs become more complicated hiring a techni cian for system maintenance and support may become a necessity since hourly consulting rates are much higher than a technician s salary calculated on an hourly basis The amount paid to a consultant for one hour s work may be the same as the amount paid to an employee for a full day Factors to Consider When Choosing a New Information System Deciding which information system to purchase is difficult particularly for small organizations In the early planning stages managers may have only limited knowl edge to guide them It is not uncommon for nontechnical people to find themselves in charge of deciding which hardware and software combination they should pur chase without having any idea about how to make that decision The following fact
164. sers to search through data move to other forms print reports and make changes Many jobs involve working with forms in a database such as airline ticketing and hotel front desk work Forms are designed to let users input their answers to the form s questions or prompts Default answers are included to ensure that the database has all the data required for its fields Defaults are assumed input that will be utilized in the absence of entered input Many software programs feature dialog boxes containing questions with default answers If a user simply presses the Enter key or clicks OK the program will assume the default input for that question For example if a program asks Do you wish to save before exiting and a user presses the Enter key it will assume that the work should be saved which is the default option Reports A report is a formatted body of output from a database Most reports are designed to be printed out for later review Monthly phone bills report cards and grade transcripts are all examples of database reports A report can be generated by request or automatically For example credit checks are a type of database report that is not issued on a regular basis Instead Helpdesk Tickets Ticket 1O p Received Dy LeTroy Johnson Date Received 7 20 2018 Assigned To terry Requested By Kathy Graham Subject Line User i3 unable to generate reports Comments Using StudentTracking acedb on server00l
165. sites Operating 24 hours a day during the weeks in which the games took place the National Information and Cooperation Center at the German Interior Ministry in Berlin monitored scores of computers fed from surveillance cameras in and around stadiums Some of the cameras were equipped with biometric readers that could check the facial features of suspi cious persons against a database of known soccer troublemakers Thousands of tips from authorities in participating countries also con tributed to the hooligan database The com finally does depart another MIS run by the Federal Aviation Administration FAA uses radar systems to track its progress toward its destination puters also gathered and shared reports from police Interpol and intelligence services At the arenas some of the 30 000 police officers on duty were equipped with wire less fingerprint devices that allowed them to instantly submit an optical scan of fingerprints taken from detained suspects into a central database at the German Federal Intelligence Service The 3 5 million ticket buyers had to provide name address date of birth nationality and ID card or passport number more personal information than has ever been asked of a soccer fan As fans entered the stadium ticket takers scanned the RFID chips embedded in the tickets to look for matches in the database The goal was to prevent entry to hooligans and known criminals and also to thwart ticket s
166. software programs are too CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Start End Process Figure 12 6 Flowchart Symbols These symbols are used in flowcharts to represent the logic of a program complex to be represented graphically in every detail However beginning pro grammers still use flowcharts to help visualize their algorithms and understand their programs before they attempt to write code Figure 12 7 displays an example of a flowchart using standard flowchart symbols CASE Tools CASE tools as described in Chapter 10 help a programming team schedule and coordinate its operations Similar to a suite of applications some typical CASE tools include a scheduler for building Gantt charts and software that assists with creating documentation including the data dictionary Comments A comment is an informational message inserted into program source code Comments are normally used to explain source code to later readers like notes scribbled in the margins of a book Comments can be interspersed throughout a program to help others understand how the program works and to provide the reasoning behind programming decisions They are written in English rather than in a programming language see Figure 12 8 Comments have a spe cial designation which varies by language so the compiler interpreter knows to ignore them Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 INTERNET o asso Go to this title s Internet Resource
167. ss complex Programming language syntax the rules for stringing together language elements also tends to be less complex than human language syntax Computer lan guages can be classified as being low level language or high level language They can also be classified by language generation Programming language text files are called source code which requires special train ing to learn Coding is a term programmers use to refer to the act of writing source code The four main computer language programming elements are vari ables executable statements looping and deci sion statements What problem solving techniques are used in programming Programming is a problem solving process Problem solving is as much an art as a science but there are techniques for solving problems using logical processes such as the divide and conquer approach and problem solving process How has the programming approach evolved Significant milestones in the history of software development include structured programming CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages modularity object oriented programming OOP and rapid application development RAD What development and documentation tools do programmers use and why are these tools important A variety of tools are available to software devel opers to make their jobs easier A compiler trans lates programming language source code into machine code prior to execution and then displays
168. t Dennis M Ritchie Lucent Technologies lt http www bell labs com history unix ritchiebio html gt Identify the Problem The organizations contracting a programmer s services are not always sure what they want Sometimes they may be able to describe their needs but not in a way that would help the programmer know where to begin Programmers may hear statements such as Our billing system is too slow fix it or We would like to network all of our company offices Programmers must first hammer out the definition of the problem before they can begin to solve it A programmer starts every project like an interrogator beginning with a thorough set of questions covering every aspect that is not clear If programmers begin a project without correctly identifying the problem s that must be solved they are very likely to come up with the wrong solutions This means they end up losing valuable time and quite possibly their jobs In the case of a slow billing system a programmer might start off with questions isolating the cause of the slowdown Is the network running slowly Are the computers old and out of date Is there faulty hardware somewhere A simple fix such as new net work equipment or a printer will often solve problems and avoid the need for expensive programming CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Analyze the Problem Once a problem has been identified the next step involves analyzing it At first
169. t Access Home Create External Data Database Tools Design RN TA Ja Insert Rows TA 3 Delete Rows ary Builder Test Validatior Property Indexes Rules Esi Lookup Column Sheet Views Tools Show Hide ANH View Security Warning Certain content in the database has been disabled Options E gt Book Code Enter the two digit book code Book Title Text Enter the exact title of the book Author s Last Name Text Enter author s last name Author s First Name Text Enter author s first name Publisher Code Text Enter the two digit publisher code Book Type Text Enter the type of book ex FIC Price Currency Enter the price of the book Number On Hand Number Enter the number of books in stock Field Properties In Microsoft Access the Primary Key button allows the user to designate the table field that will function as a primary key To activate the feature users select the desired table field and then click the Primary Key button on the Table Design toolbar CHAPTER 9 Database and Information Management CEO ORACLE CORPORATION Larry Ellison LARRY ELLISON COFOUNDER AND CEO of Oracle Corporation is one of the most flamboyant and outspoken entrepreneurs of this century Ellison is one of the richest as well With a net worth of 50 billion and a financially successful com pany he has reached the pinnacle of corporate SUCCESS Among some of his friends and peers Ellison ma
170. t Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT 4e Circle the letter of the best answer from those provided 1 A type of information system with in depth 2 This type of information system is used to knowledge about a specific subject is called track measurements of final product quality a n _________ system a quality control system QCS a integrated information b process control system PCS b strategic information c strategic information system SIS c executive information d statistical quality control SQC d expert Information Systems CHAPTER 10 475 3 A system that allows purchasers to make their own configuration changes is called a n a closed system b open system c freeware d prototype Which of the following are software applications that help in rapid application development a CASE tools b spreadsheets c design specifications d beta test operating systems Which of the following steps would normally occur first when developing a new informa tion system a Writing the design specification b Creating a prototype c Interviewing people to discover what they want d Beta testing Which of the following documents describes what a system needs to do but not how it should be accomplished a prototype b functional specification c design specification d user manual SS We eS Oe 7 Which of the following describes a system for providing supplies to
171. t systems come equipped with query tools that help users narrow down the amount of information that needs to be searched A query allows users to ask questions designed to retrieve needed information For example a query combined with a report can be used to ask a grades database to list all students in the top 10 percent of academic achieve ment The results could be used to print a report that would be the dean s list for that semester Requesting information involves the use of a query language Structured Query Language SQL is the most popular database query language It is simple when compared with a programming language but it is also structured mean ing that it is not as freeform as natural programming languages that mimic human speech SQL is a very commonly supported query format and works with most databases in use today Since it is standardized and so widely supported SQL is often used to bridge communications gaps between database systems running on computers employing different operating systems The basic query command that SQL commands is the SELECT command which asks a database to return records that match specified criteria The com mand uses the keywords SELECT fields FROM table and specifies the table and fields from which the information is to be selected see Figure 9 2 Information from one query can be used to pull up data from more than one record source through a process called joining which matches data
172. ten code modules or objects to shorten development time Some code is viewable by anyone with a Web browser using the View Source browser function In addition a common practice in the programming community is to share code freely posting it on pro gramming bulletin boards and special interest Web sites When programmers share code from an appli cation they are developing at work they are likely CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages giving away intellectual property of the company When programmers find code on the Internet to use in an application at work they may be unknow ingly using the intellectual property of another com pany Are these practices unethical Should programmers be required to identify the source of any programming code they have not written them selves Would you think less of the programmer s skill if programming code is copied and pasted from another source
173. th a database are referred to as data processing With batch pro cessing data processing occurs at a scheduled time or when a critical point has been reached Transactional processing is more continuous and tends to be done with smaller databases or with operational databases that require all information to be current Online transactional processing OLTP is used at e commerce Web sites requiring fast always on processing How can databases help ensure high quality information A database administrator is responsible for maintaining and updating the DBMS software A key part of any DBMS is a backup and recovery plan to recover data in the event of data loss or data corruption Tape backups are a commonly used backup method The lag time between a user issuing a command and the database sys tem taking action is called database response KeyTerms s Numbers indicate the pages where terms are 19 first cited in the chapter An alphabetized list of key terms with definitions in English and Spanish can be found on the Encore CD that accompanies this book In addition these terms and definitions are included in the end of book glossary Database Basics database 400 entity 401 field 403 numeric data 405 alphanumeric data 405 record 405 database file 405 Databases and Information Systems information system 407 management information system MIS 407 transaction 407 office information system 01S 408 e
174. that a com CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages puter attempting to write a piece of software for you might extract the information it would need to figure out exactly what you wanted Outline a step by step process that a future intelligent computer could follow to create new software Do you think this type of technology would allow computers to take over from humans some day Key Principles gt Completion Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases 1 Tech Architecture gt Label the Drawing The language was originally designed to be an English like language for handling database processing Errors in a program are called is the process of removing errors from a program is the act of writing a program A business language that specializes in report generation is called is a new version of a popular programming language developed by Microsoft 1 10 What does each of these symbols mean to programmers KA IL A common type of programming error that In an effort to put rules into place concerning A program that stops running is said to have makes a program do the same thing over and over again without stopping is called a n how to properly write a program was introduced in the early days of software development An incorrect instruction stated in correct syn tax is called a n Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12
175. the name suggests an MIS exists to provide information that assists in the management of business opera tions Management information systems typically integrate information from dif ferent company departments or functions into one database It is this combining characteristic that enables the comprehensive reporting capabilities of an MIS An MIS usually provides support to management in the form of regular reports either on a periodic or an on demand basis Quarterly earnings monthly cash flow and other types of reports provide important information that helps manag ers improve productivity and profitability Automated teller machines ATMs are part of a bank s information system They provide operational access to end users Information Systems CHAPTER 10 449 VICE PRESIDENT SUN MICROSYSTEMS James Gosling JAMES GOSLING S NAME IS PROMINENT on the Web pages that were never before possible Be list of famous programmers A Sun Microsystems fore his arrival at Sun Microsystems in 1984 he fellow and vice president Gosling is best built a multiprocessor version of Unix multiple known as the creator of Java compilers and mail systems James Gosling wasn t trying In addition he also built the to revolutionize the computer original Emacs industry when he created a text and drawing editor for the Java programming lan Unix systems and helped to guage His object oriented build a satellite data acquisi
176. tion generated Database designers must consider each factor and then ensure that cor rections for possible problems are built into the system Once problems occur it is the job of the database administrator to solve them A database administrator is responsible for maintaining and updating the database and the DBMS software Larger systems require a team or perhaps even an entire database and a depart ment of people dedicated to the task Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 425 426 Database administrators are responsible for keeping databases up and running to support a company s operations INTERNET isting Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled Database Administration www emcp net CUT4e A database administrator s duties are varied Any changes in company policy often result in changes to the company database If billing information sent to cus tomers is supposed to have additional information the appropriate report must be edited and tested If a stand alone system were changed to a networked system the database must be set up to handle multiple users and issues such as security and reliability must be thoroughly worked out Database administrators are critical players in the success of any organization since they are largely responsible for preventing computer downtime or time in which the system is unavailable Consider an airline reservation system If the co
177. tion phase programmers sometimes learn that the planned solution simply is not working This means that an error was made ear lier in the problem solving process and that it is time to return to the beginning and complete the steps again It may be that another solution will have to be cho sen from the original list of solutions Documentation such as a user s manual is often written at this stage of the project S Tech Demo 12 1 I9 Extreme Programming Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 551 552 The Russians Are Coming OUTSOURCING SERVICE JOBS HAS BECOME a multibillion dollar business More and more coun tries including Vietnam Botswana and Argentina are competing for a piece of the American pie with India currently claiming the biggest slice But the new face at the table competing for software development work from the United States is not a third world country it s our former nemesis Russia More than 250 global companies including big players such as Boeing Siemens and the London stock exchange have already hired Russian software developers Estimates are that Russian workers will claim 5 percent of U S offshore programming revenue in the next few years Russian programming expertise lies in high end complex programming The country has a highly educated workforce with more than 50 percent of its students majoring in science math or computer science UNESCO ranks it third in the wor
178. to make decisions in a program __ 10 A set of techniques designed to speed up the process of software development Technology Illustrated gt Identify the Process What process is illustrated in this drawing Identify the process and write a paragraph describing it Knowledge Check gt Multiple Choice Gm canst Additional quiz questions are available on the Encore CD that accompanies this book as iw WoS well as on the Internet Resource Center for this title at www emcp net CUT3e Circle the letter of the best answer from those provided J can be reused in other 2 Am isa set of instructions that programs tell a computer how to perform a particular task a Variables a input device b Flowcharts b output device c Code modules c control unit d Batch files d program Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 575 ee eee eee 3 A program that translates a series of instruc tions written in a high level language into low level instructions that the computer can perform is known as a source code b a compiler c object code d a debugger 4 Which of the following was developed as a learning language a COBOL b BASIC c assembly d C 5 Which of the following is a low level language a Visual BASIC beG c machine code d none of these 6 Which of the following skills is considered most important for a programmer a problem solving sk
179. trary to popular belief computer programmers are not typists with a knowledge of computers Although typing is generally a required skill many programmers do not type rapidly even after years of working on computers They actually spend much more time staring at computer screens and printouts trying to solve a problem Successful programmers are measured by their programming skills not their typing speed just as chessmasters are measured by the f Programming computers is thoughtfulness of their moves not the speed by which they slide pieces 4 zous to theslow careful over the board and mental challenge of playing Programming is difficult mental work not unlike the effort involved in chess writing a report for a college course Programming is actually more diffi cult than writing a report because a program must accomplish all of its goals with zero or little tolerance for error A professor may gloss over a few minor punctuation mistakes and still give a paper an A but a program with a single syntax error a mis take in the way programming elements are strung together will not work at all and is therefore worthless This is the equivalent of a term paper being unreadable because of a single misplaced comma Programming Concepts and Languages CHAPTER 12 541 542 INTERNET esol Go to this title s Internet Resource Center and read the article titled Linear Programming and Simplex Method www emcp net CUT3e
180. tricting access by requiring user identification and passwords Usually only users with higher access levels can change data in a data base and only those with the highest level of access can change the format of the data itself Metadata and the Data Dictionary Metadata is information about data Data dictionary is the term for a body of metadata Metadata can be used for many things but often describes the signifi cance of various elements of a database If a record field was called FNAME metadata might describe this as being a text field with a maximum length of 20 characters used for holding a person s first name These characteristics might not be immediately obvious from the name FNAME Designers users and adminis trators use metadata to manage databases Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 413 414 Legacy Database Access A legacy database is a database that runs using languages platforms or models that are no longer supported by an organization s current database system In order to be able to continue to access the information stored on these databases their programming code must be made compatible with the newer system An effective way to do this is to migrate legacy applications to operating systems that follow open or standard programming interfaces which will allow a company to use its legacy applications on most operating systems Another option for accessing legacy databases is to use software tools t
181. ually issued at the request of commercial firms or consumers Other types of reports such as paychecks are generated automatically on regularly scheduled dates Data Filters Some reports can be requested using filtering criteria called a data filter so that only a subset of the data is presented For example if a user wishes to view only accounts receivable overdue by 90 days a report can be run filtering all accounts except for those overdue by that amount of time Search engines on the World Wide Web are really data filtering systems Search engines maintain massive databases of Web pages The page contents can be searched using keywords If a user searches for cat and dog for example a search engine would bring back pages containing the words cat and dog The report gener ated in this instance is the HTML Web page transmitted to the user with the listed Web pages highlighted as blue hyperlinks In general the more specific the data filter the more limited and focused the result and the greater the likelihood that the report offers the desired content Creating good effective data filters is an important goal of database designers Using Databases A database is ready for data entry and manipulation once it is designed and set up The activities performed with a database are referred to as data processing which is a broad term describing the handling of various types of interactions or events Database users perfo
182. uch as the purchase of an item the construction of an automobile part or the departure of a flight are sent to the database for processing one at a time E commerce transactions use online transactional processing OLTP These Web sites require fast always on processing One of the great benefits of such systems is that they are effectively in business 24 hours a day Credit cards are involved in most online sales transactions and customers expect a quick response so that their orders can be processed An air traffic control system is an example of a real time system Data must be kept accurate and up to date as soon as a change occurs Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 423 424 Mixed Forms of Processing Transactional and batch processing techniques are often mixed in the same system For example in situations involving online orders a transactional process may be used to handle credit card verifications while batch processing may be used to handle work orders requesting that items be taken from inventory and delivered to customers Database Users Most people use databases only while performing their jobs rather than being involved in database design or management This does not mean that these employees do not have very important jobs A great deal of effort goes into keep ing a database accurate and this requires constant maintenance A database must be updated every time a bill is paid an address is changed or an
183. uding COBOL and FORTRAN but are still used by large organizations such as the IRS the Social Security Administration the federal banking KeyJerms Numbers indicate the pages where terms are iv first cited in the chapter An alphabetized list of key terms with definitions in English and Spanish can be found on the Encore CD that accompanies this book In addition these terms and definitions are included in the end of book glossary Programming Concepts program 541 programming language 541 source code 541 coding 541 syntax 541 syntax error 541 low level language machine code 542 high level language 542 programming language generation 542 variable 543 executable statement 543 looping 543 decision statement 545 if then statement 545 Problem Solving Techniques problem solving process 546 divide and conquer approach 546 top down design 547 algorithm 550 pseudocode 550 prototype 550 The Evolution of Programming Approaches structured programming 553 routine function 553 modular code 553 modularity 553 macro 554 system the military and universities Some of the most popular programming languages currently in use include C C C Visual Basic Java and scripting languages object oriented programming OOP 554 object 554 rapid application development RAD 555 Programming Development and Documentation Tools compiler 556 interpreter 556 bug 556
184. ved in recent years Operational Databases An operational database works by offering a snapshot of a fluid situation These systems are called operational databases because they are usually used to track an operation or situation such as the inventory of a store Examples of operational databases include inventory tracking systems such as that used at a large retail store The store has products in stock and on the shelves for customers to purchase As cashiers scan the bar codes on merchandise the transactions automatically update a database that tracks the amount and location of each item in the store When the stock of diapers or lawn chairs runs low the data i The operational database at a nursery is updated base automatically orders more each time an item is scanned at a checkout E commerce Web sites are based on operational station databases These sites allow users to place items in a virtual shopping cart and enter credit card and shipping information without ever talking to a person This data is entered into a database which is later used to track orders and payments Database and Information Management CHAPTER 9 417 418 Biopirates Beware INDIA IS SEEKING TO PUT THE PRESSURE ON BIOPIRACY the practice of poaching the knowl edge and resources of indigenous peoples To protect its natural and cultural property the country s National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resourc
185. will bring the company may not successfully com plete the project and realize its goals Is it fair for management to expect staff to cooperate with the project if they may lose their jobs as a result of the successful implementation of the new system Is it fair for staff to delay or sabotage the project for the sake of job security What alternatives might management consider in order to keep employee morale high and complete the project successfully Information Systems CHAPTER 10 479 Learning Objectives gt Vv Vv Define programming and describe the Four classic programming elements Distinguish between low level and high level programming languages and discuss the different language generations Describe the divide and conquer approach and identify the standard problem solving steps Explain the common types of programming errors Discuss the different phases of the software development life cycle Identify the major programming languages and discuss their features 539 CyberScenario JAMES GOT THE CALL EARLY TUESDAY MORNING A pulp and paper plant in the Cascade Mountains had experi enced a system failure and they were in a downtime situation that meant their plant s operations were not running at all They wanted James s help because he had written the plant s control system software James asked numerous questions in an attempt to locate the source of the trouble While
186. with an information system including lost records network errors system crashes or the accidental display of confidential information such as employee salaries All of these things can cause the development team to be called on to create an emergency patch or correc tion to the system In the worst cases errors may cause the team to go back to the planning stage to determine the origin of any problems Approval Once an information system is installed and working the committee or executive overseeing the purchase of the system must inspect test and approve it This is normally done after the system has proved itself during a successful beta CHAPTER 10 Information Systems a ve At the approval milestone the work is officially accepted and final payment is made test period Final approval is often tied to full payment being made to the suppli ers This can be a stressful time for everyone involved if a system has problems The Support Stage A system goes into the support stage after it has been accepted and approved It is quite possible that undetected errors might still exist or that additional fea tures may be requested A support contract normally allows users to contact the systems integrator for technical support training and sometimes on site trouble shooting Even if the system was designed in house the responsible department often operates as an independent entity sometimes even charging the depart ment a
187. xpensive hours writing new programs and devising new methods Despite this slower rate of progress programmers have achieved some significant advances in software devel opment during the past decades including structured programming modularity object oriented programming OOP and rapid application development RAD Structured Programming Programming was a new science in the early days of computing and people wrote programs without applying rules to their development practices Programmers were CHAPTER 12 Programming Concepts and Languages Us s lt y People rather than machines power software development improvements in software have come more slowly than improvements in hardware charting unknown territory with no maps to guide them so they tended to write whatever code they thought would work Structured programming forced order onto this chaos and presented guidelines for an organized logical approach to pro gramming that focuses on thinking at a higher level Rather than simply executing lines one after another and writing code line by line the programmer thinks in terms of structured groups of instructions For example if the program was designed to print out a bitmap image on the screen such as a photo of a person s face on a Web page the programmer builds a routine sometimes called a function which is a sec tion of the program specifically to handle such images The code for that routine is then broken
188. y be considered an eccentric It has been rumored that he once tried to purchase a Rus sian MIG fighter plane but U S customs would not allow the plane into the country In another incident Ellison reportedly upset San Jose airport officials by landing his private jet after an 11 p m curfew an action resulting in a 10 000 fine To many of his fellow business associates however he is a business genius a marketing puting machines and network computers Oracle is the world s leading supplier of information manage ment software and the world s second largest independent software company boasting annual rev enues of more than 9 7 billion The company s diverse product line includes database software products applications servers software infor mation management tools and software suites for electronic commerce applications Oracle s database software is the most widely used cor porate database worldwide and the company s whiz and an avid promoter of simplified com product line continues to expand at a rapid pace account credit card social security reservation confirmation and work order numbers are commonly used as primary keys because they are unique Primary keys are usually large numbers but they may also be alphanumeric like many drivers license numbers It is possible to search a database without using the primary key but it will be more difficult as other keys may not be unique and ther

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