Hour 13. An Introduction to Databases

In this chapter, we will cover

• What databases are

• How data is stored in a database

• What database tables, columns, and records are, and how they pertain to storing data

• The types of data that can be stored in a table column

• Some of the popular, commercially available database systems, as well as some of the free database systems

• How to create a new database and new database tables with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition

One of the most powerful and useful features of ASP.NET is the ability for ASP.NET web pages to interact seamlessly with database systems. Databases, as we'll discuss in detail in this chapter, are software applications designed to serve as efficient and powerful repositories of data.

In this chapter we will look at what databases are and how data is stored in them. We'll also quickly examine a number of popular commercial and free database systems, focusing specifically on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, a free database system from Microsoft that you installed along with Visual Web Developer back in Hour 1, "Getting Started with ASP.NET 2.0."

By the end of this hour, you will have an understanding of database fundamentals, have created a database, and have populated this database with some data.