DATA BASE MANAGEMENT

Many techniques have evolved for managing data bases in direct access storage. Such techniques are used by programmers as they attempt to minimize processing time or storage space required, or sometimes to maximize flexibility. In earlier days, these techniques were used by the customer’s application programmer.
During the past decade there has been a significant move by hardware and software manufacturers toward embedding these techniques into a component os systems software. This component is now quite widely referred do as a “data base management system”, or DBMS.
So a DBMS is a piece of software, as mentioned above. Some vendors regard it as being part of the operating system; others build it in such a way that it is very much an optimal extra for which the customer must pay if he decides to use it. It must be emphasized that the reason for identifying DBMS as a piece of software is to avoid any confusion that may arise with what might be called an “integrated management information system”, or IMIS. As IMIS uses a DBMS. An IMIS comprises human components, appropriate administrative procedures, and application programs, which collectively provide information to management and to others. Many will argue that as IMIS is not possible without a DBMS. A management information system may be completely manual, but the degree to which one could achieve integration is likely to be modest.
(Taken from Encyclopedia of computer science by Relston and Meck)