Six Data Base Management Systems : Feature Analysis and User Experiences
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*< ""%. \ 10 NBS TECHNICAL NOTE 887 4* *"»MU of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/ National Bureau of Standards ix Data case Management Systems: Feature Analysis and User Experiences NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS The National Bureau of Standards' 1 was established by an act of Congress March 3,' 1901. The Bureau's' overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau consists of the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology, the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs. THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the central basis within the United States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical measurements throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce. The Institute consists of the Office of Measurement Services, the Office of Radiation Measurement and the following Center and divisions: Applied Mathematics — Electricity — Mechanics — Heat — Optical Physics — Center 2 for Radiation Research: Nuclear Sciences; Applied Radiation — Laboratory Astrophysics 2 2 2 — Cryogenics — Electromagnetics — Time and Frequency . THE INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of well-characterized materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides advisory and research services to other Government agencies; and develops, produces, and distributes standard reference materials. The Institute consists of the Office of Standard Reference Materials, the Office of Air and Water Measurement, and the following divisions: Analytical Chemistry — Polymers — Metallurgy — Inorganic Materials — Reactor Radiation — Physical Chemistry. THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY provides technical services to promote the use of available technology and to facilitate technological innovation in industry and Government; cooperates with public and private organizations leading to the development of technological standards (including mandatory safety standards), codes and methods of test; and provides technical advice and services to Government agencies upon request. The Insti- tute consists of the following divisions and Centers: Standards Application and Analysis — Electronic Technology — Center for Consumer Product Technology: Product Systems Analysis; Product Engineering — Center for Building Technology: Structures, Materials, and Life Safety; Building Environment; Technical Evalua- tion and Application — Center for Fire Research: Fir.e Science; Fire Safety Engineering. * * THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides technical services designed to aid Government agencies in improving cost effec- effective tiveness in the conduct of their programs through the selection, acquisition, and within utilization of automatic data processing equipment; and serves as the principal ^focus processing the executive branch for the development of Federal standards for automatic data equipment, techniques, and computer languages. The Institute consists of the following divisions: Computer Services — Systems and Software — Computer Systems Engineering — Informa- tion Technology. THE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION PROGRAMS promotes optimum dissemination and the Federal accessibility of scientific information generated within NBS and other agencies of Government; promotes the development of the National Standard Reference Data System and of the National a system of information analysis centers dealing with the broader aspects Measurement System; provides appropriate services to ensure that the NBS staff has optimum the following accessibility to the scientific information of the world. The Office consists of organizational units: of Technical Office of Standard Reference Data — Office of Information Activities — Office Publications — Library — Office of International Relations — Office of International Standards. noted; mailing address * Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, Maryland, unless otherwise Washington, D.C. 20234. 2 Located at Boulder, Colorado 80302. KA'flUtfAL BU&ttAU 09 STANSAJEDa L1BRABT NOV * 3 1375 Six Data Base Management Systems: - Feature Analysis and User Experiences Elizabeth Fong, Joseph Collica and Beatrice Marron Systems and Software Division Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology National Bureau of Standards Washington, D.C. 20234 Sponsored in part by: Federal Aviation Administration Office of Management Systems 800 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20591 ^ ° F e« U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary James A. Baker, III, Under Secrefary Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson, Assisiani Secretary for Science and Technology NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Acting Director Issued November 1975 National Bureau of Standards Technical Note 887 Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Tech. Note 887, , 84 pages (Nov. 1975) CODEN: NBTNAE U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1975 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Order by SD Catalog No. 03.46:887). Price $1.45 (Add 25 percent additional for other than U.S. mailing). PREFACE The principal motivation for this report was a request from the Federal Aviation Administration for NBS assistance in assessing several data base management systems for their relative applicability and suita- bility for meeting FAA's Accounting System requirements. We gratefully acknowledge the excellent cooperation of the systems vendors and Federal users, both in providing information and validating the technical content of this report. We especially appreciate the support of Dr. Dennis Fife, Chief, Computer Science Section, NBS, and Mr. Robert Link of the Office of Management Systems, FAA. This report identifies the data base management systems by trade names as necessary to provide a descriptive characterization of their features. Inclusion of a system in this report in no case implies a recommendation or endorsement by the National Bureau of Standards, and the presentation should not be construed as a certification that any system provides the indicated capabilities. Similarly the omission of a system does not imply that its capabilities are less than those of the included systems. The information presented was obtained primarily from vendor's documents and has been reviewed by each vendor for accuracy and clarity; the authors retained final technical judgement on the informa- tion included. The report is intended to be informative and instructive in state of the art assessments , and not an evaluation of the systems Due to the dynamic nature of the systems' features and the user application environment, the information presented is current only to April 1975. 111 13 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE iii ABSTRACT 1 1.0 Introduction .' 1 1 . Background • 1 1.2 Advantages of DBMS 2 1 . Approach 6 1.4 Choice of Six DBMS 7 2.0 Feature Analysis of DBMS 7 2.1 General Description 11 2.2 Computer Environment 16 2.3 Data Structures 22 2.4 Data Definition 25 2.5 Data Maintenance 26 2.6 Query Specification 31 2.7 Output and Report Generation 38 2.8 Security Features 45 2.9 External Linkages 48 3.0 Government User Experience 49 3.1 ADABAS Used at U. S. Navy Fleet Material Support Office . 50 3.2 IMS Used at Naval Materiel Command Support Activity . 53 3.3 IMS Used at the Federal Reserve Board 55 3.4 INQUIRE Used at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) . 57 3.5 INQUIRE Used at Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) 60 3.6 Model 204 Used at The Department of State 62 3.7 Model 204 Used at Food and Drug Administration .... 64 3.8 SYSTEM 2000 Used at Department of Agriculture .... 66 3.9 SYSTEM 2000 Used at Environmental Protection Agency . .68 3.10 TOTAL Used at Bureau of Labor Statistics 70 3.11 TOTAL Used at Social Security Administration 73 4.0 Application Considerations of DBMS 75 References 79 FIGURE 1. Number of Users of Six DBMS 3 FIGURE 2. DBMS Functional Components 5 FIGURE 3. Surveys of DBMS Packages 8 FIGURE 4. Summary Matrix of DBMS Application Criteria 78 SIX DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS : FEATURE ANALYSIS £ USER EXPERIENCES Elizabeth Fong, Joseph Collica, and Beatrice Marron This report presents an objective overview of features of six selected data base management systems (DBMS) and Federal user experiences with these systems. Application criteria were developed in order to aid in the evaluation and selection of DBMS. The advantages of generalized DBMS over traditional methods of software system development are discussed. The criteria for choice of the six systems' features are presented. The data reported were gathered from two sources : vendors and users. Vendor information consisted of side-by-side presen- tation of features of the six DBMS. User experiences reported are summarized under appropriate headings. This information is used to derive application criteria for assessing the usability and operational