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Database Models

The document outlines four common types of database models: hierarchical, network, relational, and object-oriented. Each model has its own structure, advantages, and disadvantages, with the relational model being the most popular due to its ease of use and flexibility. The document highlights the importance of choosing the right model based on specific data needs and relationships.

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2 views

Database Models

The document outlines four common types of database models: hierarchical, network, relational, and object-oriented. Each model has its own structure, advantages, and disadvantages, with the relational model being the most popular due to its ease of use and flexibility. The document highlights the importance of choosing the right model based on specific data needs and relationships.

Uploaded by

darkworldmusickingx
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Types of Database Model

Database Model: It determines the logical structure of a database and fundamentally determines
in which manner data can be stored, organized, and manipulated.

There are four common types of database model that are useful for different types of data or
information. Depending upon your specific needs, one of these models can be used.

1. Hierarchical databases.
2. Network databases.
3. Relational databases.
4. Object-oriented databases.

1. Hierarchical databases

It is one of the oldest database model developed by IBM for information Management System. In
a hierarchical database model, the data is organized into a tree-like structure. In simple language
we can say that it is a set of organized data in tree structure.

This type of Database model is rarely used nowadays. Its structure is like a tree with nodes
representing records and branches representing fields. The windows registry used in Windows
XP is an example of a hierarchical database. Configuration settings are stored as tree structures
with nodes.

Advantages

• The model allows us easy addition and deletion of new information.


• Data at the top of the Hierarchy is very fast to access.
• It worked well with linear data storage mediums such as tapes.
• It relates well to anything that works through a one to many relationships. For example; there is
a president with many managers below them, and those managers have many employees below
them, but each employee has only one manager.
Disadvantages

• It requires data to be repetitively stored in many different entities.


• Now a day there is no longer use of linear data storage mediums such as tapes.
• Searching for data requires the DBMS to run through the entire model from top to bottom until
the required information is found, making queries very slow.
• This model support only one to many relationships, many to many relationships are not
supported.

2. Network databases

This is looks like a Hierarchical database model due to which many time it is called as modified
version of Hierarchical database. Network database model organised data more like a graph and
can have more than one parent node. The network model is a database model conceived as a
flexible way of representing objects and their relationships.

Advantage

• The network model is conceptually simple and easy to design.


• The network model can represent redundancy in data more effectively than in the hierarchical
model.
• The network model can handle the one to many and many to many relationships which is real
help in modelling the real-life situations.
• The data access is easier and flexible than the hierarchical model.
• The network model is better than the hierarchical model in isolating the programs from the
complex physical storage details.

Disadvantage:

• All the records are maintained using pointers and hence the whole database structure becomes
very complex.
• The insertion, deletion and updating operations of any record require the large number of
pointers adjustments.
• The structural changes to the database is very difficult.
3. Relational Database

A relational database is developed by E. F. Codd in 1970. The various software systems used to
maintain relational databases are known as a relational database management system (RDBMS).
In this model, data is organised in rows and column structure i.e., two-dimensional tables and the
relationship is maintained by storing a common field. It consists of three major components.

In relational model, three key terms are heavily used such as relations, attributes, and domains. A
relation nothing but is a table with rows and columns. The named columns of the relation are
called as attributes, and finally the domain is nothing but the set of values the attributes can take.
The following figure gives us the overview of rational database model.

Advantage

• Relational model is one of the most popular used database model.


• In relational model, changes in the database structure do not affect the data access.
• The revision of any information as tables consisting of rows and columns is much easier to
understand.
• The relational database supports both data independence and structure independence concept
which makes the database design, maintenance, administration and usage much easier than the
other models.
• In this we can write complex query to accesses or modify the data from database.
• It is easier to maintain security as compare to other models.

Disadvantages

• Mapping of objects in relational database is very difficult.


• Object oriented paradigm is missing in relation model.
• Data Integrity is difficult to ensure with Relational database.
• Relational Model is not suitable for huge database but suitable for small database.
• Hardware overheads are incurred which make it costly.
• Ease of design can lead to bad design.
• Relational database system hides the implementation complexities and the physical data storage
details from the users.

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