Chapter 2

Database System
Concepts and
Architecture
 Data Models
 One Fundamental characteristics of database approach is
that it provides some level of data abstraction by hiding
details of data storage for many users

 Data Model: A collection of concepts that can be used to

describe the structure of a database – provides necessary
mean to achieve the abstraction and certain constraints that
the database should obey.

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 Categories of data models
 Conceptual (high-level, semantic) data
models
 Physical (low-level, internal) data models
 Implementation (representational) data
models:

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 Categories of data models
 Conceptual (high-level, semantic) data models: Provide
concepts that are close to the way many users perceive
data. (Also called entity-based or object-based data
models.)
Conceptual data models use concepts such as Entities,
attributes and relationship
 Physical (low-level, internal) data models: Provide
concepts that describe details of how data is stored in the
computer.

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 Implementation (representational) data
models: Provide concepts that fall between
the above two, balancing user views with
some computer storage details.
RDM may be understood by many users,
but still hide some details of data storage

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 Schemas versus Instances
• Database Schema: The description of a database.
Includes descriptions of the database structure and
the constraints that should hold on the database.
Schema diagram specified during database design
is not expected to change frequently.
• Schema Diagram: A diagrammatic display of
(some aspects of) a database schema.
• Database Instance: The actual data stored in a
database at a particular moment in time. Also
called database state (or occurrence).

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 Database Schema Vs.
Database State
• Database State: Refers to the content of a database
at a moment in time.

• Initial Database State: Refers to the database when

it is loaded

• Valid State: A state that satisfies the structure and

constraints of the database.

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 Three-Schema Architecture
• Proposed to support DBMS characteristics
of:
• Use of catalog to store the database description
• Insulation between program & data,
Program-data independence.
• Support of multiple views of the data.

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Three Schema Architecture

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 Three-Schema Architecture
• Defines DBMS schemas at three levels:
• Internal schema at the internal level to describe
physical storage structures and access paths. Typically
uses a physical data model.
• Conceptual schema at the conceptual level to describe
the structure and constraints for the whole database for
a community of users. Uses a conceptual or an
implementation data model.
• External schemas at the external level to describe the
various user views. Usually uses the same data model
as the conceptual level.

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 Three-Schema Architecture
Mappings among schema levels are needed
to transform requests and data. Programs
refer to an external schema, and are mapped
by the DBMS to the internal schema for
execution.

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 Data Independence

 Defined as capacity to change the schema at

one level of database system without having
to change the scheme at the next higher
level.
 Two types of data independence are
Logical data independence
Physical data independence

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 Data Independence
• Logical Data Independence: The capacity
to change the conceptual schema without
having to change the external schemas and
their application programs.
• Physical Data Independence: The capacity
to change the internal schema without
having to change the conceptual schema.

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 Data Independence
When a schema at a lower level is changed,
only the mappings between this schema
and higher-level schemas need to be
changed in a DBMS that fully supports data
independence. The higher-level schemas
themselves are unchanged. Hence, the
application programs need not be changed
since they refer to the external schemas.

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 DBMS Languages
• Data Definition Language (DDL): Used by the
DBA and database designers to specify the
conceptual schema of a database. In many
DBMSs, the DDL is also used to define internal
and external schemas (views). In some DBMSs,
separate storage definition language (SDL) and
view definition language (VDL) are used to
define internal and external schemas.

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 DBMS Languages
• Data Manipulation Language (DML):
Used to specify database retrievals and
updates.
• DML commands (data sublanguage) can be
embedded in a general-purpose programming
language (host language), such as COBOL, C
or an Assembly Language.
• Alternatively, stand-alone DML commands can
be applied directly (query language).

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 DBMS Languages
• High Level or Non-procedural
Languages: e.g., SQL, are set-oriented and
specify what data to retrieve than how to
retrieve. Also called declarative languages.
• Low Level or Procedural Languages:
record-at-a-time; they specify how to
retrieve data and include constructs such as
looping.
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 DBMS Interfaces
• Stand-alone query language interfaces.
• Programmer interfaces for embedding DML in
programming languages:
• Pre-compiler Approach
• Procedure (Subroutine) Call Approach
• User-friendly interfaces:
• Menu-based, popular for browsing on the web
• Forms-based, designed for naïve users
• Graphics-based (Point and Click, Drag and Drop etc.)
• Natural language: requests in written English
• Combinations of the above
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 Other DBMS Interfaces
• Speech as Input (?) and Output
• Web Browser as an interface
• Parametric interfaces (e.g., bank tellers) using
function keys.
• Interfaces for the DBA:
• Creating accounts, granting authorizations
• Setting system parameters
• Changing schemas or access path

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 Database System Utilities
• To perform certain functions such as:
• Loading data stored in files into a database. Includes
data conversion tools.
• Backing up the database periodically on tape.
• Reorganizing database file structures.
• Report generation utilities.
• Performance monitoring utilities.
• Other functions, such as sorting, user monitoring, data
compression, etc.

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 Other Tools
• Data dictionary / repository:
• Used to store schema descriptions and other information such
as design decisions, application program descriptions, user
information, usage standards, etc.
• Active data dictionary is accessed by DBMS software and
users/DBA.
• Passive data dictionary is accessed by users/DBA only.
• Application Development Environments and CASE
(computer-aided software engineering) tools:
• Examples – Power builder (Sybase), Builder (Borland)

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Centralized and Client-Server
Architectures
• Centralized DBMS: combines everything
into single system including- DBMS
software, hardware, application programs
and user interface processing software.

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 Basic Client-Server
Architectures
• Specialized Servers with Specialized
functions
• Clients
• DBMS Server

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 Specialized Servers with
Specialized functions:
• File Servers
• Printer Servers
• Web Servers
• E-mail Servers

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 Clients:
• Provide appropriate interfaces and a client-version
of the system to access and utilize the server
resources.
• Clients maybe diskless machines or PCs or
Workstations with disks with only the client
software installed.
• Connected to the servers via some form of a
network.
(LAN: local area network, wireless network,
etc.)

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 DBMS Server
• Provides database query and transaction
services to the clients
• Sometimes called query and transaction
servers

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 Two Tier Client-Server
Architecture
• User Interface Programs and Application
Programs run on the client side
• Interface called ODBC (Open Database
Connectivity – see Ch 9) provides an
Application program interface (API) allow
client side programs to call the DBMS.
Most DBMS vendors provide ODBC
drivers.
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 Two Tier Client-Server
Architecture
• A client program may connect to several DBMSs.
• Other variations of clients are possible: e.g., in
some DBMSs, more functionality is transferred to
clients including data dictionary functions,
optimization and recovery across multiple servers,
etc. In such situations the server may be called the
Data Server.

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 Three Tier Client-Server
Architecture
• Common for Web applications
• Intermediate Layer called Application Server or Web
Server:
• stores the web connectivity software and the rules and
business logic (constraints) part of the application used to
access the right amount of data from the database server
• acts like a conduit for sending partially processed data
between the database server and the client.
• Additional Features- Security:
• encrypt the data at the server before transmission
• decrypt data at the client
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 Classification of DBMSs
• Based on the data model used:
• Traditional: Relational, Network, Hierarchical.
• Emerging: Object-oriented, Object-relational.
• Other classifications:
• Single-user (typically used with micro-
computers) vs. multi-user (most DBMSs).
• Centralized (uses a single computer with one
database) vs. distributed (uses multiple
computers, multiple databases)

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 Classification of DBMSs
Distributed Database Systems have now
come to be known as client server based
database systems because they do not
support a totally distributed environment,
but rather a set of database servers
supporting a set of clients.

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 Variations of Distributed
Environments:
• Homogeneous DDBMS
• Heterogeneous DDBMS
• Federated or Multidatabase Systems

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