COM1004 - Semester 2 - Assignment 2
Introduction
There are many factors which need to be taken into consideration when designing an e-commerce site, it’s important to consider the type of database we want to use, and the possible hosts for that database (i.e. how the information on the database is stored).
When considering the database we need to consider what the possible hosts are, how large a community the type of database has, the costs associated with the database, the schema, whether it provides a secure environment to protect sensitive personal, financial information and the performance of the database. It is also vital that the database is easy to use and will adapt to changes so that future modifications and improvements can be easily incorporated into the database.
Choosing the best e-commerce solution needs to be carefully considered so that its useful for the purpose for which it is intended, in this case our requirements are as follows: the ability to store users’ data of the site, their preferences, past purchases and other information which may not be best stored in a relational database.
Databases
There are certain obvious and major choices which can be made with reference to the type of database to use, the most popular ones (and the ones which I will discuss the merits of) are:
SQL (Structured Query Language)
NoSQL
Flat Files
Hadoop
SQL
SQL is a standardised language for querying information from a database. It was designed by an IBM research center in 1974/75, it was first introduced as a commercial database system in 1979 by Oracle Corporation.
Advantages
SQL, an example of relational databases, it has a rigid, structured data form. It has a large and well established community with plenty of support, an...
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...e NoSQL database, and allows the capacity to be easily increased, its security (an important feature considering the nature of the site), is dependent on the database, and since it will be run alongside NoSQL the issues of security become insignificant, the rigid security measures implemented in NoSQL will be guarantee that the clients information is kept strictly confidential, and is safe from any hackers or other wrongdoers.
Conclusion
E-commerce sites are built in one of two approaches, the first is the customization approach, and the second is the bottom-up approach, parallel to which is a database supporting the business model of the e-commerce system, which must be manually developed, and I believe that my recommendation of the NoSQL database along with Hadoop will allow for the development of an efficient, secure and cost effective solution to the problem.
The first database systems were based on the network and hierarchical models. A database can be defined as a collection of non-redundant data which can be shared by different application systems. A database implies separation of physical storage from use of the data by an application program to achieve program/data independence. Using a database system, the user or programmer or application specialist need not know the details of how the data are stored and such details are usually "transparent" to the user. .
Databases always used to fascinate me from my under graduation with great curiosity to know how large data is managed and queried. This led me to do Masters in computer science concentrating in the field of Data Management. In the course of my study, I understood the concepts of DBMS which provides a robust and efficient way of managing and mining data. Through the courses like Database Systems (ITCS 6160), Knowledge Discovery in Databases(ITCS 6162) and Knowledge Based Systems(ITCS 6155) I gained enough theoretical and practical knowledge about the importance of proper organization of data, good techniques to build an efficient database management system and how well the data can be managed.
In the world of database technology, there are two main types of databases: SQL and NoSQL—or, relational databases and non-relational databases. The difference speaks to how they’re built, the type of information they store, and how they store it. Relational databases are structured, like phone books that store phone numbers and addresses.
This paper was written to show the similarities and differences in five different databases. It compared Access, MySQL, SQL Server, DB2, and Oracle in six different areas. It found many similarities in functionality, but large diversity in pricing.
Delobel, C., C. Lecluse, and P. Richard. Databases: From Relational to Object-Oriented Systems. ITP, 1995.
The Revolution in Database Architecture, by Jim Gray, describes the path that Gray thought that the evolution of the Database Architecture would take after 2004. He considers that databases had been stagnated for several years and that, beginning in 2004, the development of several technologies would pave the way into a revolution in the database world.
Over the past few years, the Internet “is fundamentally changing the way companies operate,” to create additional revenue streams and refine the way they do business with existing customers (Ecommerce). E-commerce is crucial to the future success of companies, and those that do not embrace the Internet to conduct its business “will be destroyed by competitors who are leveraging the power of the Internet” (Ecommerce).
The sole purpose of existence of such databases is approach to simplicity in design, better horizontal scaling and greater control over the availability of data. See Figure 3 for scaling. The use of other means of storing data and different access mechanism, provide faster access to data based on the problem which the organization aims and this is also the reason NoSQL databases is famous for use in big-data and real-time web applications.
The e-commerce industry is one of most profitable segments in the US economy as well as global economy. E- Commerce Industry Report underlines that all companies which are included in the statement have remarkable revenue growth. While the global economy continues to improve, many consumers in North America and Europe continue to invest heavily in the market and in the IT technology. The data protection and security are significant factors for investors and consumers. Moreover, e- commerce is an example of an industry that grows by acquisitions which provide a greater opportunity to penetrate new geographic platforms.
A database management system, or DBMS, gives the user access to their data and helps them transform the data into information. Such database management systems include dBase, Paradox, IMS, and Oracle. These systems allow users to create, update, and extract information from their databases. Compared to a manual filing system, the biggest advantages to a computerized database system are speed, accuracy, and accessibility.
E-commerce is the use of electronic methods and technologies to sell and purchase either goods, services or information. The e-commerce concept was first introduced in the early 1990’s takes place over the World Wide Web. In this context, there are three distinct levels of integration in e-commerce including vertical integration and cross-business integration. The vertical level of integration involves the linkage between the front end of the website and transaction systems On the other hand, the cross-business integration involves linking a company’s website with the websites of its customers and suppliers. The third and final level of integration is the inclusion of technology to handle customers’ orders, purchases and customer service. Consequently, these three levels of integration give rise to a combination of links, information, websites and e-commerce websites, which are accessible over the internet.
Satzinger, Jackson & Burd (2010, pp. 488) further states that DBMS “provide designers, programmers and end users with sophisticated capabilities to store, retrieve and manage data”. Sharing and managing the vast amount of data needed by a modern organisation simply would not be possible without a database management system.
The future of economic competitiveness for most enterprises relies on entrance and active participation in the e-commerce market. An essential problem with e-commerce is that the controls and organization are different for each site. There is no standard way of building t...
E-commerce is about two decades old, yet due to its fascinating dimensions, it remains a challenging area for researchers and professionals.
E-commerce application is a platform where there is buying and selling of products and services which are done by businesses and consumers via an electronic medium, mostly without using any paper documents. “E-Commerce applications support transactions between businesses and their customers. They provide 24/7 customer support, allowing customers to order products, check orders and track shipping, review previous orders, reorder products, and manage their accounts.” (Auburn SeeWolf llc , 2009-2012)