The History of Databases

Databases are almost as old as man. However, they fully came into the scene in the Information Technology world with the advent of computer software packages, between the 1940s and 1950s. From there on, it has been evolving into more flexible patterns, and user-interactive procedural controls. We really won't have a good computer world without databases as the backbone. Software dominates the more sensitive part of the computer, even though the hardware parts are also important.

We can trace the history of database from the way things were being stored in containers, scrolls, stones, etc. in the early days of man. This gradually became what cannot be physically handled - tangibility wise - but evolved into what can be used, controlled, modified and relied upon - software. Databases are vital parts of computer software. They are very important.

Computers became well known and used from the 1940s, then the IBM were at the zenith of the IT sector; though there were other great and good companies, IBM became very popular with their typewriters, and eventually computer hardware and software. Dbase, FoxPro, Basic, COBOL were among the first database and database-oriented or database-powered software packages that first hit the scene. These packages were being run under the Disk Operating System (DOS) platform, because as at then, visual operating systems like Windows, Linux, etc. haven't hit the scene. They were still in their "idealistic" or "dream" level.

As at the days of Dbase and the rest, one couldn't really see any limitation not having a visual database package. However, other companies came into the scene, talking about the Microsoft's, Netscape's, Oracles', etc. From there, led to the development of great databases and database-powered software packages. We are talking about SQL, Oracle, MSSQL, Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, etc. Databases remain the source and backbone of dynamic software and web programming till date.