Basic Definitions You Need To Know (Access 2003)

TERM DEFINITION
Record
The rows in a table are called "records." A record contains a piece of information about a person, place or thing. Example of a record "Baseball Card"
Field A field contains a piece of information within a record. Columns in a table are considered "fields." Example of a field "Name of the baseball player"
Unique identifier
A number given to a particular client which will only appear once in a record in a single table. Example of a unique identifier "Baseball Players's Jersey Number of a particular team"
Primary Key A unique identifier is also called a primary key.
Data Type Indicates the type of data the field will contain. Names are "text" data types and numbers are "number" data types.
Description Detailed information of the field - Example: Field can store a numeric data that can be used for mathematical calculations.
Query Queries ask questions. Access allows you to ask a wide variety of complex questions and retrieve the answers quickly. Example: How many baseball players in my collection are from the National League and how many are from the American League?
Form You can view and update data through attractive-looking forms.

Although there are many terms used in developing a database, the terms listed above are the more common ones. For the purpose of this tutorial, which is to teach you how to enter raw data into a database and then easily retrieve that information in a report format, the terms mentioned above will suffice.

 

Understanding Databases|Terms|Parts | Creating a Database | Creating a Table |
Creating a Report
| Creating a Query | Woodbridge Campus Homepage |

Last update April 25, 2005
© Diane D. Mickey, 2005
email:  dmickey@nvcc.edu