[Year 12 IPM] Data tables

[Maggie Iaquinto]

To add to Charmaine's discussion -- data tables then are used to work out the number of bytes in each field which, added up, constitute a record. Then, we can calculate the number of records added per day (week, month) and work out storage needs for these records over a period of years.

The data table can then be used to plan which variables will be used in a program, depending on the programming language. 

Maggie

-----Original Message-----
From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Charmaine Taylor
Sent: Thu 9/28/2006 9:07 PM
To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management Teachers'Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] Data tables
 
It seems to me that the reference to data tables as design tools refers 
to simplified forms of data dictionaries. If you check out the data 
dictionaries for say Oracle, or MY-SQL (both online) you'll see they are 
quite complex and certainly contain more detailed and complex 
information than would be required of VCE students.

Aa a design tool, a data table would describe the data to be stored in 
each table in a database to this extent: field name, data type, field 
length, description (what would be stored in the field eg field_name: 
State; data type: text (or alpha); field length: 3; description: 
Australian state entered as 2-3 character abbreviation in upper case (Of 
course I'd use a drop-down field for this but you get the idea).  The 
term should probably be data description table and it is a pity it was 
omitted from the glossary. However, with all the work done on improving 
the study design I guess an error here and there could occur.

Thank goodness for this list where ambiguities and errors or omissions, 
apparent and real, can be picked up and discussed.

BTW I have piloted units 1 and 2 this year and it has been a terrific 
experience. If units 3 and 4 are as much improved we are all in for a 
fun and rewarding 2007.

Charmaine Taylor
Sunbury Downs College




Mark Kelly wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> The new study design for ITA refers to "data tables" under design 
> tools in Key Knowledge U3O1 dotpoint 12.
>
> Does anyone know if this means "data structure charts" or "data 
> dictionaries" or something else entirely?
>
> Oddly, while U3O1 key knowledge mandates the coverage of data tables, 
> the study design's glossary doesn't define them or even mention them 
> under its list of "design tools".
>
> Cheerio
>
> Mark K
>

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