· Both systems contain a collection of data and a set of programs which access that data. A database management system coordinates both the physical and the logical access to the data, whereas a file processing system coordinates only the physical access.
· A database management system reduces the amount of data duplication by ensuring that a physical piece of data is available to all programs authorized to have access to it, whereas data written by one program in a file-processing system may not be readable by another program.
· A database management system is designed to allow flexible access to data (i.e., queries), whereas a file-processing system is designed to allow pre-determined access to data (i.e., compiled programs).
· A database management system is designed to coordinate multiple users accessing the same data at the same time. A file-processing system is usually designed to allow one or more programs to access different data files at the same time. In a file-processing system, a file can be accessed by two programs concurrently only if both programs have read-only access to the file.