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32 Chapter 3: Database Fundamentals
What is a relational database?
A relational database is a structured collection of information that is related to a particular subject
or purpose, such as an inventory database or a human resources database. You use databases to
manage information. Information, such as product name, cost, and on-hand inventory, is stored
in a database. Within the database, you organize the data into storage containers called tables.
Tables are made up of columns and rows. Columns represent individual fields in a table. Rows
represent records of data in a table. You can think of database tables as grids, as in the following
example:
Each field in the table contains one piece of information. In an employee table, for example, one
column contains the employee name, another contains the employee phone number, and the
other columns each store one piece of information, such as the address, city, state, zip, and salary
information. Each record represents one set of related information. For example, an employee
table might store information about one employee per row. The number of rows in a table
represents the total number of table records.
Field (column)
Record
(row)