BSE1123/CS253 –

DATABASE/DATABASES

Chapter 2 -
Database Architecture &
Conceptual Data Models
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 Chapter 2 - Objectives

• Purpose of three-level database architecture.

• Contents of external, conceptual, and internal levels.
• Purpose of external/conceptual and conceptual/internal
mappings.
• Meaning of logical and physical data independence.
• Distinction between DDL and DML.
• A classification of data models.

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 Objectives of Three-Level
Architecture
• All users should be able to access same data.

• A user’s view is immune to changes made in other

views.

• Users should not need to know physical database

storage details.

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 Objectives of Three-Level
Architecture
• DBA should be able to change database storage
structures without affecting the users’ views.

• Internal structure of database should be unaffected

by changes to physical aspects of storage.

• DBA should be able to change conceptual structure

of database without affecting all users.

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ANSI-SPARC Three-Level
Architecture

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 Three-Level ANSI-SPARC
Architecture
1. External Level
– This is the highest level of data abstraction.
– It describes only part of the entire database that a
end user concern.
– It is also known as a view level.
– End users need to access only part of the database
rather than entire database.
– Different user need different views of database.
And so, there can be many view level abstractions
of the same database.

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 Three-Level ANSI-SPARC
Architecture
2. Conceptual Level
– This is the next higher level than internal level of data
abstraction.
– It describes What data are stored in the database and
What relationships exist among those data.
– It is also known as Logical level.
– It hides low level complexities of physical storage.
– Database administrator and designers work at this level
to determine What data to keep in database.
– Application developers also work on this level

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 Three-Level ANSI-SPARC
Architecture
3. Internal Level
– This is the lowest level of data abstraction.
– It describes how the data are stored on storage devices.
– It is also known as physical level.
– It provides internal view of physical storage of data.
– It deals with complex low level data structures, file
structures and access methods in detail.
– It also deals with Data Compression and Encryption
techniques, if used.

Database Systems, 8th Edition 8

Differences between Three Levels of
ANSI-SPARC Architecture

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 Data Independence

• Logical Data Independence

– Refers to immunity of external schemas to changes
in conceptual schema.
– Conceptual schema changes (e.g. addition/removal
of entities).
– Should not require changes to external schema or
rewrites of application programs.

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 Data Independence

• Physical Data Independence

– Refers to immunity of conceptual schema to
changes in the internal schema.
– Internal schema changes (e.g. using different file
organizations, storage structures/devices).
– Should not require change to conceptual or external
schemas.

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Data Independence

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Data Independence and the ANSI-
SPARC Three-Level Architecture

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 Database Languages

• Data Manipulation Language (DML)

– Language that provides a set of operations to
support the basic data manipulation operations on
the data held in the database
– Including:
• Insertion of new data
• Modification of data stored
• Retrieval of data (query language)
• Deletion of data
– Applies to all levels

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 Database Languages
• Procedural DML
– allows user to tell system exactly how to manipulate data.
• Non-Procedural DML
– allows user to state what data is needed rather than how it is to be
retrieved.
• Fourth Generation Languages (4GLs)
- Encompasses
• Presentation languages; query language and report generator
• Speciality language; spreadsheets
• Application generator that define, insert, update, retrieve data from
the database to build application
• Very high-level language; used to generate application code

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 Data Model
• Define how the logical structure of a database is
modelled.
• Fundamental entities to introduce abstraction in a
DBMS.
• Define how data is connected to each other and
how they are processed and stored inside the
system.
• Data Model comprises:
– a structural part;
– a manipulative part;
– possibly a set of integrity rules.
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 Data Model

• Purpose
– To represent data in an understandable way.

• Categories of data models include:

– Object-based
– Record-based
– Physical.

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 Data Models

• Object-Based Data Models

– Entity-Relationship
– Semantic
– Functional
– Object-Oriented
• Record-Based Data Models
– Relational Data Model
– Network Data Model
– Hierarchical Data Model.

• Physical Data Models

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Relational Data Model

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Network Data Model

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Hierarchical Data Model

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 Conceptual Modelling

• Conceptual schema is the core of a system

supporting all user views.
• Should be complete and accurate representation of
an organization’s data requirements.
• Conceptual modeling is process of developing a
model of information use that is independent of
implementation details.
• Result is a conceptual data model.

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 System Catalog

• Repository of information (metadata) describing

the data in the database.
• One of the fundamental components of DBMS.
• Typically stores:
– names, types, and sizes of data items;
– constraints on the data;
– names of authorized users;
– data items accessible by a user and the type of access;
– usage statistics.

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Components of a DBMS

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Components of Database Manager
(DM)

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LET’S RECAP!

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Fill in the blanks with suitable answer

The ANSI-SPARC database architecture

uses (1) _______ levels of abstraction;
consists of (2)___________ level,

(3) ____________ level and

(4) ____________ level.

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Fill in the blanks with suitable answer

The (5)_________ level consists of the

users’ views of the database.
The (6)_________ level is the community
view of the database.

The (7)__________ level is the

computer’s view of the database.
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Fill in the blanks with suitable answer

The two common data sublanguage are:

Data (8)___________________
Language and Data (9) ______________
Language. The part of a DML that
involves data retrieval is called
(10)_____________ language.
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 Tutorial 2 – Extended Review
Questions
 Individual basis.
1. Discuss the concept of data independence
and explain its importance in a database
environment.
2. To address the issue of data independence,
the ANSI-SPARC three-level architecture was
proposed. Compare and contrast the three
levels of this model.
3. Discuss the function and importance of
conceptual modelling.

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