Simple Database Concepts

Databases are used everywhere in work, school, online, and even on our cell phones. I read David Kroenke’s Database Concepts to get a better understanding of what databases are and how to create/use them. Databases are not only used for people in the work force or computer programers it is used to help people keep track of things. The most important part of a database is the splitting lists into tables of data. Databases differ based on their design and techniques for dividing the data the tables contain.

Over the summer I had a job at a brokerage firm called, Kepler Inc., in New York City as an intern. My jobs consisted of regular intern work, such as, filing, organizing the copy room, and of course using databases to sort, file, and record documentation. Using that trusty tool we all love known as Excel my job was to keep track of who were current clients, what did those clients do, how much growth they made, etc. I had to also find and record IARD and SEC numbers to make sure all of Kepler’s current customers were active and SEC registered. If they were not that usually meant they were not located in the US and I had to create another column describing this. I had to make sure all the customers were in a folder known as KYC and that every customer folder had certain files in their databases as well as in a hard copy filed in the building.

My job was very important and I had to make sure to provide all and accurate, up-to-date information so the people working there in the compliance department, trading flood or sales can do their job while not second guessing the information provided for them by me. As I read Kroenke’s interpretation of problems with lists it reminded me of a time when I wanted to delete a client from an old database who was inactive. When I went to delete this client I forgot to delete the whole row and instead just deleted the cell. This forced the data in the clients column to move up one cell making my data inconsistent. Luckily, I caught myself and fixed it without too much problem. Separating these many lists and checks was made much easier by putting all the information I had gathered in to one database called a relational model. A relational database contains a collection of separate tables and the content in each table relates to one theme. This makes it so everything related to the first column was sorted into different tables no matter how many.

https://ccle.ucla.edu/pluginfile.php/744822/mod_resource/content/0/3.Kroenke_DataBase_1.PDF