This is a concise, complete briefing on the fundamentals of database technology - both theory and practice.The Essence of Databases covers database design, relational systems, object-oriented systems, distributed systems, and the internal management and control of database systems. The coverage of database design includes a detailed summary of semantic data modeling concepts and how they are implemented in ER modeling, functional data modeling and semantic object modeling. The coverage of internal management demonstrates how logical database structures are stored in physical devices, and considers the related problems of concurrent access control and database transaction integrity. The book also addresses the challenge of managing today's complex distributed databases.For anyone interested in database technology; no background required. Read Less