Understanding Multimedia and Temporal Databases

Posted on May 23, 2024 in Technology

Multimedia Data

Multimedia data is an interactive way to represent information to a user. It includes several categories of data like textual data, audio data, video data, etc. The database which is used to hold these different kinds of multimedia data is known as a multimedia database. Nowadays, we as a user take the help of various forms of media such as text, images, audio, video, and graphic objects for communication or to gain any kind of information. These media forms are collectively known as multimedia. Multimedia provides us with an interactive way to display information to a user. Hence, managing and storing these different kinds of multimedia data is essential. This is done using a database known as a multimedia database. A Multimedia database is a special type of database that helps us to organize, query, and store inter-related multimedia data. It facilitates the storage and retrieval of multimedia data elements. In these databases, all the media files are stored in the form of binary strings and are encoded according to their file types. Let’s look at different types of multimedia databases.

Types of Multimedia Database

  • Static media: These multimedia datasets are specifically used for static media objects, i.e., those objects which are independent of time constraints, such as images and graphic objects.
  • Dynamic media: These datasets are used to store dynamic forms of media content, i.e., those multimedia data elements which are time-dependent, like audio data, video data, and animations.
  • Dimensional media: Dimensional multimedia datasets are typically used in Computer-Aided Drafting programs. These operate on 3D multimedia data and include various formats used by image and video editing applications.

To effectively manage and query a large collection of multimedia data, multimedia databases also store additional information related to the data apart from the primary multimedia data. The contents of a multimedia database are:

  1. Media data
  2. Media format data
  3. Media keyword data
  4. Media feature data

Applications of Multimedia Database

  • Documents and record management: Multimedia databases are used in industries that require a large set of documentation and records, like the insurance claim industry, etc.
  • Education: As multimedia data provides an interactive way to represent data, a multimedia database can act as an effective knowledge dissemination tool. These applications include the use of multimedia datasets in digital libraries and computer-aided learning software.
  • Marketing and Entertainment: A Multimedia database can act as a data provider for entertainment applications like video-on-demand apps, news-on-demand apps, etc. It can provide multimedia data for advertisements and digital marketing processes.
  • Real-time Monitoring: Combining various software tools with a multimedia database can allow us to monitor and manage multimedia data in real time. For example, a geographic information system (GIS) makes use of multimedia databases to analyze and visualize geographical multimedia data in real time.

Temporal Databases

A temporal database is a database that needs some aspect of time for the organization of information. In the temporal database, each tuple in relation is associated with time. It stores information about the states of the real world and time. The temporal database does not store information about past states it only stores information about current states. Whenever the state of the database changes, the information in the database gets updated. In many fields, it is very necessary to store information about past states. For example, a stock database must store information about past stock prices for analysis. Historical information can be stored manually in the schema.

  • Valid Time: The valid time is a time in which the facts are true with respect to the real world.
  • Transaction Time: The transaction time of the database is the time at which the fact is currently present in the database.
  • Decision Time: Decision time in the temporal database is the time at which the decision is made about the fact.

Applications of Temporal Databases

  • Finance: It is used to maintain the stock price histories.
  • Factory Monitoring System: For storing information about current and past readings of sensors in the factory.
  • Healthcare: The histories of the patient need to be maintained for giving the right treatment.
  • Banking: For maintaining the credit histories of the user.

Examples of Temporal Databases

An EMPLOYEE table consists of a Department table that the employee is assigned to. If an employee is transferred to another department at some point in time, this can be tracked if the EMPLOYEE table is an application time-period table that assigns the appropriate time periods to each department he/she works for.

Limitations of Conventional Database

  1. Increased Cost
    • Hardware and Software Costs
    • Staff Training and Expense
    • Cost of Data Conversion
  2. Complexity
  3. Performance
  4. Frequent Updates/Upgrades
  5. Huge Size

A conventional database, often referred to simply as a database, is a structured collection of data organized in a manner that facilitates efficient storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data. It is the foundational component of many information systems and applications, providing a structured and centralized repository for managing data.

Explain features NoSQL database?

NoSQL databases, or ‘Not Only SQL’ databases, offer an alternative to traditional relational database systems. They are designed to handle a wide variety of data models, including key-value, document, columnar, and graph formats. NoSQL databases are particularly useful for large sets of distributed data and are known for their ability to handle large volumes of rapidly changing structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. Here are some of the key features that characterize NoSQL databases:

  1. Schema-less
  2. Scalability
  3. High Performance
  4. High Availability and Fault Tolerance
  5. Flexible Data Models
  6. Query Flexibility

Cloud Databases A cloud database is a database that is deployed in a cloud environment as opposed to an on-premise environment. The database itself can be offered as a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) application or simply be hosted in a cloud-based virtual machine. Applications can then access all the data stored in a cloud database over a network from any device.

With a cloud database, there is no need for dedicated hardware to host a database. Rather than the organization itself installing, configuring, and maintaining a database instance or instances, the cloud provider can provision, manage, and scale the underlying database cluster. When to use a cloud database Cloud databases work in most cases that traditional databases do. They are particularly valuable when building software products that: 1 require a large volume of data. 2 are cloud-native. 3 need to handle high scale traffic. 4 are distributed geographically

Key Features of Cloud Databases:

  • Scalability
  • Accessibility
  • Managed Services
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Disaster Recovery and High Availability
  • Security
  • Cost-Effectiveness