The term database design can be used to describe many different parts of the design of an overall database system. Principally, and most correctly, it can be thought of as the logical design of the base data structures used to store the data. In the relational model these are the tables and views. In an object database the entities and relationships map directly to object classes and named relationships.
However, the term database design could also be used to apply to the overall process of designing, not just the base data structures, but also the forms and queries used as part of the overall database application within the database management system (DBMS).
Data mining is the process of extracting hidden patterns from data. As more data is gathered, with the amount of data doubling every three years,[1] data mining is becoming an increasingly important tool to transform this data into information. It is commonly used in a wide range of profiling practices, such as marketing, surveillance, fraud detection and scientific discovery.
While data mining can be used to uncover patterns in data samples, it is important to be aware that the use of non-representative samples of data may produce results that are not indicative of the domain. Similarly, data mining will not find patterns that may be present in the domain, if those patterns are not present in the sample being "mined".
Data mashups combine similar types of media and information from multiple sources into a single representation. An example is the Havaria Information Services' AlertMap, which combines data from over 200 sources related to severe weather conditions, biohazard threats, and seismic information, and displays them on a map of the world or Chicago Crime Map, which indicating the crime rate and location of crime in Chicago.
Business mashups focus data into a single presentation and allow for collaborative action among businesses and developers. This works well for an Agile development project, which requires collaboration between the Developers and Customer proxy for defining and implementing the business requirements.