<database> (RDBMS - relational database management system) A database based on the relational model developed by E.F. Codd. A relational database allows the definition of data structures, storage and retrieval operations, and integrity constraints. In such a database, the data and relations between them are organised in tables. A table is a collection of records and each record in a table contains the same fields. Certain fields may be designated as keys, which means that searches for specific values of that field will use indexing to speed them up. Records in different tables may be linked if they have the same value in one particular field in each table.
INGRES, Oracle and Microsoft Access are well-known examples.
The first commercial RDBMS was the Multics Relational Data Store, first sold in 1978.
(06 Nov 1996)