12.1 Data Independence
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Understand and be confident writing and running SQL SELECT clauses.
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Know how to use the DISTINCT keyword in SQL queries.
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Understand and be confident writing and running SQL with an ORDER BY clause.
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Know how to use the LIMIT option in SQL queries.
As we discussed in Lesson 11, the database approach to storing and managing data has important advantages over storing data in Excel or even data tables. The main advantage we discussed in the last lesson is that the database approach helps us to ensure that our data is of high quality. In this lesson, we will discuss another important advantage: data independence.
Data independence occurs when the data used by a program is maintained separately from the applications or programs that use the data. Generally, the data is stored in a database and managed using specialized database management (DBMS) software. Airtable can be loosely thought of as DBMS software. Programs and applications can be hosted by a server (such as an internet site) or installed on a user’s device.
Data independence creates two very important outcomes. First, the applications that use the data can be updated without the need to change any of the underlying data used by the application. Second, more than one application can use the same data source at the same time, making it easier to share data across the various programs used by an organization.