Database Concepts

For courses in database management.

Hands-on exploration of database fundamentals
Database Concepts offers students practical help creating and managing small databases, from two of the world’s leading database authorities. The text focuses on database concepts, rather than features and functions of a particular product, making it flexible enough to work with the instructor’s preferred software. Data sets for three sample databases run throughout portions of the text so students can practice working with complete databases. Three running projects challenge learners to apply concepts and techniques to real business situations. In the 9th edition, Microsoft^® Office 2019, and particularly Microsoft Access^™ 2019, is now the basic software used and is shown running on Microsoft Windows^™ 10.

David Kroenke has many years of teaching experience at Colorado State University, Seattle University, and the University of Washington. He has led dozens of seminars for college professors on the teaching of information systems and technology; in 1991, the International Association of Information Systems named him Computer Educator of the Year. In 2009, David was named Educator of the Year by the Association of Information Technology Professionals-Education Special Interest Group (AITP-EDSIG).

David worked for the US Air Force and Boeing Computer Services. He was a principal in the startup of three companies, serving as the vice president of product marketing and development for the Microrim Corporation and as chief of database technologies for Wall Data, Inc. He is the father of the semantic object data model. David’s consulting clients have included IBM^®, Microsoft^®, and Computer Sciences Corporations, as well as numerous smaller companies. Recently, David has focused on using information systems for teaching collaboration and teamwork.

His text Database Processing was first published in 1977 and is now in its 15th edition. He has authored and coauthored many other textbooks, including Database Concepts, 8th Edition (2017), Experiencing MIS, 8th Edition (2018), SharePoint for Students (2012), Office 365 in Business (2012), and Processes, Systems, and Information: An Introduction to MIS, 3rd Edition (2018).

David J. Auer is a senior instructor emeritus at the College of Business (CBE) of Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. He served as Director of Information Systems and Technology Services at CBE from 1994 to 2014 and taught in CBE’s Department of Decision Sciences from 1981 to 2015. Auer has taught CBE courses in quantitative methods, production and operations management, statistics, finance, and management information systems. Besides managing CBE’s computer, network, and other technology resources, he also teaches management information systems courses. He has taught the principles of management information systems and business database development courses, and he was responsible for developing CBE’s network infrastructure courses, including Computer Hardware and Operating Systems, Telecommunications, and Network Administration.

Auer has coauthored several MIS-related textbooks, including Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, first published in 1977 and now in its 14th edition (coauthored with David Kroenke for the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th editions), and Database Concepts, now in its 9th edition (coauthored with David Kroenke for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th editions). He holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Washington, and three degrees from Western Washington University — a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics, a master’s degree in economics, and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. He served as a commissioned officer in the US Air Force, and he has also worked as an organizational development specialist and therapist for an employee assistance program (EAP). Auer and his wife, Donna, live in Bellingham, Washington. He has two children and four grandchildren.

Scott L. Vandenberg has been on the Computer Science faculty at Siena College since 1993, where he regularly teaches three different database courses at several levels to both computer science and business majors. Prior to arriving at Siena, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in database systems at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. Since arriving at Siena, he has also taught graduate and undergraduate database courses at the University of Washington–Seattle. He has developed five different database courses over this time. His other teaching experience includes courses in introductory computer science, introductory programming, data structures, and management information systems, as well as three years teaching Siena’s required interdisciplinary freshman writing course.

Vandenberg’s recent research publications are mainly in the areas of computer science education and data science applications, with earlier work on query optimization and algebraic query languages. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Cornell University and a master’s degree and a PhD in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Medieval history and playing hockey are two things that can tear him away from a database. Vandenberg lives in Averill Park, NY, with his wife, Kristin, and two children.

Robert C. Yoder began his professional career at the University at Albany as a systems programmer managing mainframes and Unix servers. He has two years of research experience working on 3-D solid modeling systems. Robert holds BS and MS degrees in computer science and a PhD in information science, all from the University at Albany. Yoder joined the Computer Science department at Siena College in 2001 and teaches business database, management information systems, geographic information systems, data structures, networks, and operating systems courses. Yoder lives in Niskayuna, NY, with his wife, Diane, and two children, and enjoys traveling, hiking, and walking his dog.