A term sometimes used synonymously with database management system (DBMS) although normally used in a more general sense. The term has no widely accepted definition and thus can be applied to any system of software that facilitates the storage, organization, and retrieval of information within a computer system, without the implication that it need have all the essential characteristics of a DBMS. The information held may include sound fragments, images, and video sequences in addition to the usual textual and numerical information. These newer forms of computer-held information are sometimes argued as being a defining characteristic of the term, notwithstanding that DBMS are developing to provide for such forms of information.