9 Advantages of Database Management System over File System

Why does everyone talk about Database Management System (DBMS)?

Why no one uses a simple and traditional text file system to store the data?

This is a common question everyone has.

There should be certain benefits of DBMS system. Right?

In this post, the advantages of database management system over file system have been proposed.

To provide the backbone for any application needs a huge collection of data. That comes with a database management system.

In the early era, data was used to be saved in a simple text file. There is the main disadvantage of using a file system to store the data. We can not structure the data. Data becomes too verbose and cluttered.

Today large scales of databases are available such as IBM DB2, Oracle, SQL. With these databases, data processing, and data manipulation has become so much easy.

9 Advantages of Database Management System over File System:

1. Concurrency

In the file system management, there is no such control over Multi-user access to data. Concurrent updates may lead to data corruption. In modern Database Management System, we can concurrently access data.

2. Rich Query Set

To work on database content, there is database language. It provides rich query set to manipulation database contents.

Ex in SQL language:

select * from <table_name> //to read the data from SQL database

insert into <table_name>// to insert data in SQL database

Select SQL query is used to retrieve the data from the database which comes with the rich query set as aggregate functions, filters and order by clause.

3. Indexing

Internet of Things implies collecting data to drive physical devices without human interaction. Behavioral data is getting collected for Artificial Intelligence. Collecting data and searching for particular information in this huge amount of data has become a tedious job.

To address this issue, data indexing is very much useful.

Indexing is the process of ordering database entries. It helps to improve the speed of data retrieval operations. Indexing makes search quicker. It is one of the advantages of database management system over the file system.

4. Transaction

The transaction is the sequence of operations to be carried out in a single logical work unit. To preserve the reliability of data, the database must ensure ACID properties. ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and, Durability.

• Atomicity: It ensures, all or none of the operations to be executed in a single logical unit of work.
• Consistency: State of the database system should be the same, before starting the transaction and after completion of the transaction.
• Isolation: If there is multiple transactions are executing, one transaction should not interfere in other transaction.
• Durability: Database must ensure all the changes to be saved after completion of the transaction.

You can read detail about ACID properties with a real-world example.

With these ACID properties on transactions, it is easy to apply complex updates safely. It adds one more point to be considered for advantages of a database management system.

5. Privileges

It may lead to security issues if we allow admin privileges to all database user. One of the main advantages of Database Management System is that it has a provision to give different privileges to the different users.

The database administrator can have all the privileges to insert into, update and delete the database. The database administrator is supposed to give privileges to other database users. For the end user, accessing data can be allowed but updating a database.

6. Remote data access

Online shopping has become the fad. Apps are getting rolling out. Everything is getting online. Data has been accessed remotely.

Simple data access queries for Database Management System provides data access easy and simple. With a simple plugin or command, data can be accessed by online websites or apps.

7. Client Supportive

Users or clients can embed database queries regardless of whatever programming languages they are using.

Suppose client want to provide online services through the website as well as mobile application. The database queries do not depend on the computer programming language. So a single database can be used for both the platforms.

8. Database management tools

There are lots of database management tools are available. It is lagging in earlier file system data management.

• Database backup is important. It ensures the availability of a stable database in case if data gets corrupted.
• Data replication is required for faster availability of database in the various regional areas.
• Suppose there are large numbers of the user accessing data. Load balancing reduces the load on a particular database by sharing a load among all the replicated databases.
• There is a need to prevent unwanted data access. So database monitoring and security have become the biggest concern.

9. Scalability

Last but not the least one of the advantages of database management system is database scalability.

To address every business requirement to store data, there is availability from small scale to large scale databases. Today almost every apps and online services are using a database management system.

These are advantages of database management system over the file system. For the same reason, the database management system has evolved. Today it is used everywhere than File System.

If you have any question or do you want to suggest any point, use the comment section below to write.

Aniruddha Chaudhari

I am a Python enthusiast who loves Linux and Vim. I hold a Master of Computer Science degree from NIT Trichy and have 10 years of experience in the IT industry, focusing on the Software Development Lifecycle from Requirements Gathering, Design, Development to Deployment. I have worked at IBM, Ericsson, and NetApp, and I share my knowledge on CSEstack.org.