DATA MODELS

Topics
• Data Models
• Categories of Data Models
 Object Based Data Models
 Physical Data Models
 Record Base Logical Models
• Hierarchical Model
• Network Model
• Relational Model
• Comparison of Data Models
• Which Data Model to Use
 Data Models

A model is a representation of reality, 'real world' objects and events, and their
associations. It is an abstraction that concentrates on the essential, inherent
aspects of an organization.
Data Model can be defined as an integrated collection of concepts for describing
and manipulating data, relationships between data , and constraints on the data
in an organization.
Categories of Data Models

The purpose of a data model is to represent data and to make the data
understandable. There have been many data models proposed in the literature.
They fall into three broad categories:

• Object Based Data Models

The object based and record based data models are used to describe data at the
conceptual and external levels, the physical data model is used to describe data
at the internal level.
Object Based Data Models
Object based data models use concepts such as entities, attributes, and relationships. An
entity is a distinct object (a person, place, concept, event) in the organization that is to
be represented in the database. An attribute is a property that describes some aspect of
the object that we wish to record, and a relationship is an association between entities.

Some of the more common types of object based data model are:
• Entity-Relationship
• Object Oriented
The Entity-Relationship model has emerged as one of the main techniques for modelling
database design and forms the basis for the database design methodology. The object
oriented data model extends the definition of an entity to include, not only the attributes
that describe the state of the object but also the actions that are associated with the
object, that is, its behavior.
Physical Data Models
Physical data models describe how data is stored in the computer ,
representing information such as record structures, record ordering, and access
paths. There are not as many physical data models as logical data models, the
most common one being the Unifying Model.
Record Based Logical Models
Record based logical models are used in describing data at the logical and view
levels. In contrast to object based data models, they are used to specify the
overall logical structure of the database and to provide a higher-level
description of the implementation. The three most widely accepted record
based data models are:

 Hierarchical Model

 Network Model

 Relational Model
Hierarchical Model

Hierarchical Database model is one of the oldest database models. This model is
like a structure of a tree with the records forming the nodes and fields forming the
branches of the tree.
Operations on Hierarchical Model
• Insert Operation
• Update Operation
• Delete Operation
Network Model
The Network model replaces the hierarchical tree with a graph thus allowing
more general connections among the nodes. The main difference of the
network model from the hierarchical model, is its ability to handle many to
many (N:N) relations .
In other words, it allows a record to have more than one parent. Suppose an
employee works for two departments. The strict hierarchical arrangement is
not possible here and the tree becomes a more generalized graph - a network .
The network model was evolved to specifically handle non-hierarchical
relationships. A network structure thus allows 1:1 (one : one), 1:M (one : many),
M:M (many : many) relationships among entities .
In network database terminology, a relationship is a set. Each set is made up of
at least two types of records: an owner record (equivalent to parent in the
hierarchical model)and a member record (similar to the child record in the
hierarchical model).
Relational Model
Relational model stores data in the form of tables. The relational model consists of
three major components:
1. The set of relations and set of domains that defines the way data can be represented
(data structure).
2.Integrity rules that define the procedure to protect the data (data integrity).

3.The operations that can be performed on data (data manipulation).

A relational model database is defined as a database that allows you to group its data
items into one or more independent tables that can be related to one another by using
fields common to each related table.
Comparison of Data Models
 Which Data Model to Use ?

a model that best suits an organization depends on the following factors:

•The organization's primary goals and requirements.

•The volume of daily transactions that will be done.

•The estimated number of enquiries that will be made by the organization.

Among the traditional data models, the widely preferred one is the relational data
model. This is because relational model can be used for representing most of the real
world objects and the relationships among them. Security and integrity are maintained
easily by relational data model. Also, use of relational model for database design
increases the productivity of application programs, since it eliminates the need to
change the application programs when a change is made to the database. Moreover ,
relational tables show only the logical relationship. End users need not know the exact
physical structure of a table or relation.
Network Model is also free from anomalies but due to its complex nature it is not a
preferred model. Since, hierarchical model suffers from lot of anomalies it is
useful only for those cases which arehier archical in nature.