DataBase Management System or simply DBMS is a software system. It is used to store, retrieve and run queries. It acts as an interface between the user and the database. It allows users to perform operations like CREATE, READ, UPDATE and DELETE data in the database.  The system manages the data, database engine and database schema and allows manipulation or extraction of data by users and programs. The system also provides data security, data integrity, concurrency and uniform data administration procedures. 

The database system optimizes the community of data by applying a database schema design technique called normalization. It partitions a big table into smaller tables when the attributes exhibit any redundancy in values. It provides many benefits on a traditional file system that includes flexibility and a more complex backup system. 

DBMS is broadly classified based on various criterias like the data model, the database distribution and user numbers. Most popularly used softwares are relational databases, distributed databases, hierarchical, object-oriented databases and network databases.

• Relational database management systems:It is most popularly known as RDBMS. It is a widely used data model because of its user-friendly interface. It follows normalizing the data in rows and columns of the table. This is the precise solution when a user needs a data storage system that should be scalable, flexible and able to manage a lot of information. 
• Distributed database management systems:It is a combined group of logically interrelated database applications. This pattern synchronizes data periodically and makes sure the changes to data are universally updated in the database. 
• Hierarchical database management systems:These types of databases organize data models in a tree-like structure. The data storage is put in top-down approach or in bottom-up approach. This is represented through the parent-child type of relationship. 
• Object-oriented database management system:These types of databases do not store data in rows and columns. They instead choose to store data in objects. It follows the approach used in object-oriented programming (or simply known as OOP). This approach allows objects to have elements like fields, properties and methods. 
• Network database management system:This type of database gives a solution to the need for more complicated or complex relationships by allowing every child class to have multiple parents. The entities are systematically arranged in a graph which can be accessed by using several paths or approaches.
• Other types of databases that are used to store and manage data include: Centralized database, NoSQL databases, Cloud databases. 

A lot of software solutions came up in the course of time to work with databases and to create, manage and store it in an organized way. A few gained popularity amongst them. The widely used ones include: Oracle, MySQL and SQL Server. 

• Oracle: It is a commercial relational database management system. It makes use of enterprise scale database technology with a robust set of features outside of the box. It is stored either on cloud or on-premises. Oracle dynamics popularly describes the inside working of the system. 
• MySQL:It is a relational database management system. It is used widely with open-source content management systems and big platforms like Facebook, Twitter and youtube. 
• SQL server:This is a product of Microsoft. The SQL server is also a type of relational database management system. It is developed on top of the structured query language (SQL). SQL is a standard programming language with provisions for database administrators to manage databases and query data. 

Database management is followed by various functions. Certain operations are taken upon to keep the data secure, integrated and in an organized way. It organizes the content to give enough control over the required data in an understandable way. It allows users to create, edit, update and delete the data in database files. After creating the database, it is also possible to store and retrieve data from those created database files. Precisely, its functionalities are brought down to:

• Concurrency. Data can be concurrently accessed by the same database by different users at the same time.  
• Security. It follows certain rules to determine access rights to the users.
• Back-up and recovery. Database management makes sure to back-up the data using processes that are reliable and recovers the data if a situation arises. 
• Integrity. Data integrity is one of the important features of any database management system. Its structures and rules enriches the integrity of the data. 
• Data descriptions. Any database management tool maintains a data dictionary that includes description of the data present in the table or a database. The development of databases is controlled by database administrators (DBAs) and other domain specialists in an organization. This is to ensure the database structure is efficient and reliable. They also control access and security of the data. 

Different employees in an organization use the database for different purposes. Some might be to just view the data for simple purposes to perform basic study, while others might want to add, update or edit the database. They are involved actively with the database management of the organization. Looking at these patterns, the database administrator has to set different priorities to allow access to different sets of employees based on the requirements. This will ensure that the person who might simply want to view the data for reference does not delete por change the data accidentally. 

Great Learning brings to you an opportunity to learn a DataBase Management System course online for free. This course shall take you through the structure different platforms follow, features and operations that the system does. At the end of the course, you will be able to work fully with the database management tools and understand its fundamentals. You can also learn DBMS for free whenever you want to. You will also gain a certificate for DBMS after the successful completion of the course. Happy learning!