IntroPeople have been collecting information since the dawn of recorded history. Shortly after we started recording we ran into the storage space issue. Where do we put all this information? We soon developed written languages ​​so we could store the information we collected. The next problem that arose was retrieving our stored information. This led to the development of systems such as the dewy decimal system. Organizing books by topic and author made retrieving information a little easier. However, it was the computer that revolutionized information storage and retrieval. Thus the first databases were born.Flat FileFlat file databases were the first of many database models, almost as old as the computer. Flat file databases stored data in text files saved in the file system. There was little to no organization, it was a step backwards in organizing the data. The only real advantage was that data could be retrieved at remarkable speed, when the database was used by a very experienced programmer. This created a new problem. Now you need a very select set of skills to access any data, and not everyone who wanted to access that data had these specific skills. Hierarchical The next big step in data organization was the hierarchical database. This approach added structure to data storage and retrieval. With a hierarchical structure, information is stored similar to the organization of a computer file system. The data is organized with a root parent that has one or more children. This method of organization allows very quick access to a large number of records. However, this huge improvement over its predecessor still had one of its biggest flaws. It still requires an experienced database programmer to access setu...... middle of paper ...... plex database structures. The object model also eliminates the need for association tables to accommodate many-to-many relationships. Despite the advanced features of the object model, it suffers from an old problem. Like its ancestors, the object model is very difficult to use. Conclusion People have been recording information for millennia, but only recently have we used computers to organize it. Through trial and error we have perfected the creation and recovery methods. With the relatively new invitation of computers and databases, we have made great strides in such a short time. Through reason and innovation, we will continue to improve the knowledge management process. Works Cited Database Development. Boston: Pearson Custom Pub., 2008. Print.Powell, Gavin. Beginning database design. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley, 2006. Print.