What is a Database and How do I Use it?

Anniss, Matt. What is a Database and How do I Use it? 2014. 48p. ISBN 978-1-62275-078-8. Available at 005.74 ANN on the library shelves.

What is a database? How do I use it? These are the two essential questions this book examines. From humble beginnings as sheets of paper that could be sorted, the database evolved to become a complex computer application that is used to store and retrieve information. This book guides the reader through the history and evolution of the database, and it explains some of the complex processes that power the user’s ability to search, manipulate, and modify virtually millions of pieces of information at the click of a mouse.

A short book, the overview it provides on an idea so simple yet so complex helps the reader understand an aspect of modern life that is often not well known. Structured Query Language (SQL), data security, and social media databases are also explored.