Databases: Overview

History

Brief History of Database Systems

• 1940's, 50's Initial use of computers as calculators. Limited data, focus on algorithms. Science, military applications.

• 1960's Business uses. Organizational data, customer data, sales, inventory, accounting, etc. File system based, high emphasis on applications programs to extract and assimilate data. Larger amounts of data, relatively simple calculations.

  IBM's IMS/360 Version 1 released in 1968.

• 1970's CODASYL systems proposed and built. The relational model. Data separated into individual tables. Related by keys. Initially required heavy system resources. Examples: Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Digital RDB, IBM DB2.
  

  But FORTRAN and punched cards are still being used by many applications

• 1980's Microcomputers - the IBM PC, Apple Macintosh. Database program such as DBase (sort of), Paradox, FoxPro, MS Access. Individual user can crate, maintain small databases.

• Late- 1980's Local area networks. Workgroups sharing resources such as files, printers, e-mail.
  Client/Server Database resides on a central server, applications programs run on client PCs attached to the server over a LAN.

• 1990's Internet and World Wide Web make databases of all kinds available from a single type of client - the Web Browser.

  The Human Genome Project embraces this technology