Management of Data in Spreadsheets & Databases

SPREADSHEETS?

•A grid that organises data into cells•Allows us to record, compare and display data efficiently and easily•Can be thought of as a large calculator•Capable of simple and complex mathematical calculations•Commonly used in budgets, financial analysis, and sales forecasting

OUR SPREADSHEET

•Created in Google Docs•Two week record of each student’s activities rounded to the nearest half-hour block of time•Consists of six categories: student, category, activity, day, time & duration in hours

RELATIONAL DATABASES

•A collection of data•Structured•Displayed in rows and columns, and linked to other tables•Minimises duplication of data•Commonly used for school/university student records, business partnership or product records, etc.

EXAMPLE?

•School’s student records in a particular class•Same teacher, same home room, same class name•This data would be duplicated in a spreadsheet•This data would be entered ONCE in a relational database•It would then be linked, or “related” to each student

SPREADSHEETS

Advantages Disadvantages

Simple to use Repeated data

Easy data duplication Data entry errors

Cell formulas & calculations Formula errors

RELATIONAL DATABASES

Advantages Disadvantages

Elimination of repeated data Difficult to set up

Search, retrieval and subsets Calculations are not cell-based

Tabular or other display formats Cross-platform support difficult

CONTRASTSpreadsheets Relational Databases

Repeated data Elimination of repeated data

Simple to use Difficult to set up

Cell formulas & calculations Calculations are not cell-based

Data entry errors Search & retrieval of data

Cell format view Many display formats

Graphics are easy to insert Graphics are harder to set up