Before DBMS, data was managed using the traditional file system approach, where each application had its own set of data files. DBMS was developed to overcome the limitations of the file system. The key differences are:
Comparison Table
| Basis | File System | DBMS |
| Data Redundancy | High same data gets repeated in many files | Low data is stored centrally, so duplication is reduced |
| Data Consistency | Hard to maintain repeated copies may not match each other | Easy to maintain, since redundancy is controlled |
| Data Sharing | Difficult files are made for one specific application only | Easy same data can be shared by many users and applications |
| Data Security | Limited only basic file-level permissions | Strong user-level access control decides who can do what |
| Data Integrity | Hard to enforce no built-in rules | Easy constraints (like primary key, foreign key) enforce correct data |
| Backup & Recovery | Manual, and often not good enough | Automatic backup and recovery is built in |
| Concurrent Access | Not supported well can cause wrong/inconsistent data | Well supported using concurrency control techniques |