The actions that a database may perform include:
- Conduct a search.
- Validate the data entered and check for inconsistencies.
- Create data-entry forms.
- Sort and manipulate the data.
- Update information in more than one place at the same time.
The other actions, such as writing a business letter, creating a bar graph, and finding the average of four numbers, are generally not direct functionalities of a database itself but can be part of applications that interact with databases.