A database is a repository of information. Although there are several different types of databases, in this book we are concerned primarily with relational databases, currently the most commonly used type of database. A relational database:
What Is a Database Platform?The basic functions of a database are provided by a database platform, a software system that manages how data is stored and retrieved. When using VB.NET, you have a number of database platforms available to you. The primary database platform that we cover in this book is Microsoft SQL Server 2000. (For an introduction to this database platform, see Chapter 3.) In contrast, a database engine is the actual workhorse of the database platform. It is the component of a database platform actually responsible for executing functions and for data management. |