Introduction - RDBMS overview

Database Management System or DBMS essentially consists of a comprehensive set of application programs that can be leveraged to access, manage and update the data, provided the data is interrelated and profoundly persistent. Just like any management system, the goal of a DBMS is to provide an efficient and convenient environment in which it becomes easy to retrieve and store the information into the database.

Dr E.F.Codd, also known to the world as the ‘Father of Database Management Systems’ had propounded 12 rules which are in-fact 13 in number. The rules are numbered from zero to twelve. According to him, a DBMS is fully relational if it abides by all his twelve rules. Till now, only few databases abide by all the eleven rules. His twelve rules are fondly called ‘E.F.Codd’s Twelve Commandments’.

• If a management system or software follows any of 5-6 rules proposed by E.F.Codd, it qualifies to be a Database Management System (DBMS).
• If a management system or software follows any of 7-9 rules proposed by E.F.Codd, it qualifies to be a semi-Relational Database Management System (semi- RDBMS).
• If a management system or software follows 9-12 rules proposed by E.F. Codd, it qualifies to be a complete Relational Database Management System (RDBMS).

Relational Database Management System or RDBMS is a type of database that stores and provides access to data points that are related to one another. Relational databases are based on the relational model, an intuitive, straightforward way of representing data in tables. In a relational database, each row in the table is a record with a unique ID called the key. The columns of the table hold attributes of the data, and each record usually has a value for each attribute, making it easy to establish the relationships among data points. 

DBMS vs RDBMS