Well, that's a pretty tall order, given the amount of information you have
supplied us with. You'll need to start by understanding that a database is
not like any other piece of software you have ever used. It is NOT a
glorified spreadsheet or a word processor on steroids.
The first thing to know is that data is stored in tables and tables consist
of rows and columns. Each column in a table should store a single piece of
data for each row in the table -- ex. FirstName and LastName should be in
different columns (you can combine them together with a query if needed).
Each row (often called records) in a table needs to be unique from every
other row in the table. Except in certain instances, a table should not
contain any repeating fields (Assignment1, Assignment2, Assignment3, etc.)
as is often done in an Excel spreadsheet. I said, "Except in certain
instances," because every rule has some exceptions. For example, I will
often create Address1 and Address2 fields for a personal records table,
simply because I have every expectation that the number of Addresses will
never exceed 2. These repeating fields should be stored in a separate table
that is related to the first table.
There is a TON more for you to learn but, hopefully, this will get you
started on the right track. If you will post more information about what
your boss wants, then someone here will be able to give you some more
specific guidance.
