Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft® Office Access 2003

Chapter 4. Planning a Database

In this chapter

• Planning a database

• Organizing your data

• Designing your first tables

In the simplest terms, a database is a collection of persistent (or related) data. For instance, you might store information about your household goods and assets in a paper notebook. Or, you might collect personal information about your relatives and friends, such as addresses, birth dates, and so on, in an address book or day planner. Both collections are really just simplified databases. Both systems have a specific structure, and you follow a routine to store and retrieve information. Even a pile of little scraps of paper, Post-it Notes, and napkins with ideas for that great American novel you mean to write could be considered a ...