READOS / Technology
Database Foundations for Business
What databases do, how business data is structured and modelled, and choosing, securing and backing up a database.
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- 01What a database management system does: storage, queries, concurrency, recovery and security explainedBehind every business system sits software that stores, protects and shares its data. What a database management system does, in plain language, and what owners should ask about it.
- 02Tables, keys and relationships: how business databases are structured, for the people who commission themA plain-language guide to relational databases: entities, keys, relationships, normalisation, constraints and transactions, and how to review a proposed data model.
- 03When a business outgrows its spreadsheets: choosing between spreadsheets, databases, low-code apps and packaged systemsSpreadsheets are superb for analysis but fragile as shared record systems. How to recognise when one has become a system, and how to choose and make a move that lasts.
- 04Relational, document, graph or time-series: choosing the right kind of database for the jobDifferent databases suit different data shapes and workloads. How relational, document, key-value, graph, time-series, search and analytical databases compare, and how to choose.
- 05Open-source or commercial databases: licences, support, cost and risk for business systemsOpen-source and commercial databases differ in licences, support, cost and risk more than capability. How they compare and how to choose for custom systems, products and packages.
- 06Cloud, hosted or on-premise: deciding where business systems and their databases should runWhere a business system runs affects cost, reliability, security and control. How on-premise servers, hosting, managed databases and software as a service compare, and how to choose.
- 07Why this website has no databaseThe GoCore website is static: plain files, generated in advance and served from the edge. Why we chose that, and what we gave up in return.
- 08Normalisation and functional dependencies in database designUse functional dependencies to separate business facts, prevent update anomalies and review database normalisation without reducing design to a checklist.
- 09Modelling three-way relationships in databasesRecognise facts that depend on three entities, avoid false combinations from pairwise links and choose keys and constraints that preserve the intended relationship.
- 10Mapping supertypes and subtypes to database tablesChoose a table design for shared and specialised entities by examining identity, overlapping membership, subtype rules, relationships and real query patterns.
- 11Mapping XML documents to relational dataPreserve meaning when importing XML into relational tables by handling repeated elements, order, namespaces, missing values and document versions explicitly.
- 12Designing forms around database relationshipsHow to make parent records, repeated details and shared relationships clear in business forms, so users understand what they are viewing, changing and saving.
- 13Managing legacy Microsoft Access databases: stabilise, upsize, rebuild, replace or retireMany businesses still run important processes on Access databases built years ago. How to assess their risks, stabilise them and choose to upsize, rebuild, replace or retire.
- 14Securing business databases: access, encryption, exposure, injection risks and monitoringDatabases hold the information attackers want most. How to classify data, limit access, encrypt it, keep databases off the internet, guard against injection and detect misuse.
- 15Designing and testing row-level data accessTurn business access rules into testable row-level policies, including trusted identity, write checks, role combinations, pooled sessions and privileged paths.
- 16Backing up business databases: recovery targets, restore testing and resilience against ransomwareA backup is only as good as the restore it allows. How to set recovery point and time targets, choose backup types, protect copies from ransomware and prove that restores work.
- 17Building self-describing database archive packagesPreserve database records with the definitions, relationships, versions and validation evidence needed to understand them after the original application retires.
These topic-based reading collections are organised alphabetically; chapters may be read in any order.
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