Information Science in Management Science—Data Base Management Systems

In my last column I focused on the dual aspects of information systems, namely operators and operands. The need for algorithmic languages and way of thinking I covered last November. Now I will focus on the importance of data and its structure.

The same data is used by many programs, perhaps in different forms, and even in contradictory manner. Updating, modifying and auditing data becomes expensive. Each time an application program is changed or a new one written, new files must be created, new storage space required and problems are compounded.