Practical data base management. (book reviews) Steve Gray.

Practical Data Base Management

According to the preface, "The primary objective of this book is to provide an easy-to-read, organized guide to the practical issues of planning, designing, and implementing data base-supported information systems.'

The 23 chapters are divided into six parts: Management Perspectives (planning, management issues, system development life cycle), Data Base Environment Components (the data base management system, data dictionary/directory, function of data base administration, user/system interfaces, data independence), Evaluation and Selection of Software (criteria, alternative approaches to DBMS performance evaluation, alternate architecture for active data dictionary/directory systems), Administration of the Data Base Environment (organization and job descriptions, impact of personal privacy requirements, data base supported systems and auditing), Design and Development methodology, tradeoffs, in design), Current Directions (trends in data base systems, the backend computer, operational and technological issues in distributed data bases, technology of data translation).

Although this book may be somewhat daunting, with page after page of solid text, there is more than enough here to satisfy almost anybody's need to understand data bases, written in an information-packed, straightforward style that is almost all lean meat, with only a slight tendency to wordiness in some places.

Although not intended as a comprehensive tutorial, this book presents practical experience and insight for the practicing manager who is "responsible for the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of a data base environment.'

Review Grade: B