A data model is an abstract structure that makes possible the documentation and organization of information.
A data model is an abstract structure that documents and organizes information for communication between technical department personnel and the rest of the employees, according to the meaning of the concept in the business world. In computing , it differs in its approach, which focuses on planning application development and deciding how data will be stored and accessed.
Often specified in a language , data models determine the structure of information, with the goal of improving communication and accuracy in applications that use and exchange data . They are common grounds in which members of a work team with different levels of experience and technical knowledge can interact without problems, given that these models must have a single interpretation .
Data models and information systems
Data models are essential for the development of information systems, since through them the necessary compatibility can be achieved to handle colossal amounts of data . Furthermore, if the same structures are used for storage and access, then different applications can share information.
A clear example is a registration form on an Internet page, where for our name we can only enter letters, and for our date of birth, numbers in a specific order (such as day, month and year). These restrictions respond to the needs of the database and should be the same in two databases between which you want to share information.
As a counterpart to the great efficiency they offer, there is the high cost of development, operation and maintenance of systems and interfaces . Many times, if the quality of the data models implemented is poor, they become obstacles to the growth of a company . This usually becomes apparent when a company that has never invested many resources in its digital infrastructure decides it wants to modernize and discovers that it has a database so inefficient and poorly conceived that it would be easier and less expensive to rebuild everything from the beginning. .
A data model helps with compatibility for handling large amounts of information.
ANSI's vision
According to the American National Standards Institute ( ANSI ) a data model can be interpreted as a schema :
- Conceptual , which specifies the expressions allowed by the model itself, communicates the essential rules and definitions of the data to users;
- Logical , which describes the semantics of tables and columns, object-oriented classes, etc., represented by a particular manipulation technology (such as the SQL language);
- Physical , which details the media on which information is stored, such as disk partitions .
Types of database models
- Table model : its definition may not strictly respond to a model; It consists of a two-dimensional list of data, in which all the elements in a given column are similar and all the values in a row are related to each other.
- Hierarchical model : the information is organized in a tree-type structure, nested so that each element can branch into many others, which must be able to be ordered in some way.
- Network model : structures information using two fundamental constructions, called records and sets; the former contain fields and the latter define relationships between one-to-many records (e.g. one customer, many products purchased).
- Star schema : it generally consists of a main table , to which many others are associated. A common example is storing a patient's data in a table, which at the same time will be related to another where all their consultations are recorded, and with another in which their claims or changes in coverage plans are recorded, and so on.