Database Systems

CHAPTER 14

The System Catalog

Every reputable DBMS contains a system catalog (also called the data dictionary) of some form. This has been alluded to several times earlier in the course. This chapter discusses this very important component of the database system. The chapter proceeds under the following subtopics:

• Introduction
• Three Important Catalog Tables
• Other Catalog Tables
• Querying the System Catalog
• Updating the System Catalog
• Summary and Concluding Remarks

14.1 Introduction

The system catalog (data dictionary) is perhaps the most important database object in a database system. This is so because it facilitates and supports all or most ...