Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, you will learn:
• how database systems can be accessed from the outside world;
• what is meant by a database application programming interface (API);
• to understand the differences between proprietary versus universal APIs, between embedded versus call-level APIs, and early binding versus late binding;
• which universal database application programming interfaces are available to interact with database systems;
• how DBMSs play their role within the World Wide Web and the internet.
Opening Scenario
Sober has decided on a relational DBMS vendor, has drawn up the relational schema to implement, and has verified that the database is working as planned by importing sample data and testing some SQL queries. However, a DBMS system does not live in isolation. Sober is planning to develop several applications that will have to connect to its DBMS. For instance, Sober is thinking about a website where customers can book cabs and retrieve their order history, and a mobile app that will have to fetch information from the DBMS. Finally, Sober is also planning to develop a desktop application for the customer support team that will be used internally, but also has to be able to access the same DBMS. Sober is still thinking about different options in terms of programming languages to develop these applications, but wonders how easy it will be for these applications to access the database in order to store and retrieve information from it.
In this chapter, we take a closer look at the forms of accessing database systems. Naturally, the manner of how a DBMS is interfaced with heavily depends on the system architecture it applies. Accessing a DBMS in a legacy mainframe set-up is different than interfacing with a DBMS in a client–server-based architecture, so we open this chapter with an overview of different database system architectures. Next, we turn our attention toward the different database application programming interfaces, or APIs for short. As the name suggests, a database API exposes an interface through which clients, third-party, and end-user applications can access, query, and manage the DBMS. Finally, we look at DBMSs’ role and place within the World Wide Web, and how recent trends in this landscape are influencing and shaping the requirements imposed on DBMSs.
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