Database Terminology

Before you create a database, you should familiarize yourself with some basic database terminology and concepts. Following is a list of database terms you will encounter throughout this chapter, along with a brief definition of each term :

• Field: On a fill-in-the-blanks form, fields are the blanks. You type a unique piece of data (such as last name, first name , or middle initial) into each field.

• Record: A completed form. Each record contains data for a specific person, place, or thing. In a recipe database, for example, each recipe is a record.

• Form: A fill-in-the-blanks document you use to type entries into your database. It is just like a form you would fill out to apply for a new credit card.

• Sort : To rearrange records in alphabetical or numerical order based on the entries in a particular field. For example, you might sort records in a phone/address database alphabetically by last name.

• Filter: To display a select group of records in a database. For example, you might filter out all records in a phone/address database except those records that have "Chicago" as the city entry.

• Table: A way of displaying records in a database other than by using forms. A table is laid out in a worksheet format, consisting of rows and columns that intersect to form cells . Each record is contained in its own row and consists of field entries, each of which is typed in its own cell .

• Pivot Table: A report that consolidates data in worksheets and databases and enables you to restructure the data to compare and analyze it.