Circuit City is a retail electronic store that strives to be the number one electronic store in the United States. Circuit City's main headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia. The main database system for Circuit City is located in the corporate office in Richmond. This database is part of our point of sale (POS) system, which is Digital Point of Sale (DPS). This paper will define a database, a relational database model, and describe Circuit City's database.
DatabaseA database is a group of records and/or data that is organized either in a paper index or computer. "In computing, a database can be defined as a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer so that a program can consult it to answer queries" (Database, 2007, ÃÂ¶ 1). Databases helps organizations store and retrieve their customer information and business files. A database can help organizations be more productive and organized.
Relational Database ModelThe relational database is "a database model that describes data in which all data elements are placed in two-dimensional tables, called relations, that are the logical equivalent of files" (Stair & Reynolds, 2006, p. 103). With the relational database model information or data is linked together by relation. For example, a customer's receipts can be categorized together by using the same phone number. This model is used by many corporations and is the most popular in today's business world. Relational databases make it easier to retrieve data and are more flexible than other database models.
Circuit City's DatabaseCircuit City's database main function is to track customer's purchases. This database is a relational database because it groups data together by relation. Purchases can be tracked in the database by phone number, credit card number, or customer name. The POS will ask for...