A database is a collection of organised data. Traditionally the data will be presented something like this:
| firstname | surname | dob |
|---|---|---|
| John | Smith | 01/12/76 |
| Sara | Jones | 13/06/69 |
| Fred | Bloggs | 11/11/73 |
This is why the word "table" is used for specific collections of data.
These are the terms you need to understand:
- a database management system (DBMS) is a software package which manages databases (e.g. MySQL or Microsoft Access)
- a database is a collection of tables which each hold different data
- a table is a collection of records (rows) as above
- a record or row is a set of fields of data about one thing (e.g. all of the data about a person as above)
- a field (column) holds just one item of data about each record (e.g. a date of birth)
