CHAPTER 2

Database System Concepts

and Architecture

Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 1- 1

Data Models
 Data Model:
 A set of concepts to describe the structure of a database,
the operations for manipulating these structures, and
certain constraints that the database should obey.
 Data Model Structure and Constraints:
 Constructs are used to define the database structure
 Constructs typically include elements (and their data
types) as well as groups of elements (e.g. entity, record,
table), and relationships among such groups
 Constraints specify some restrictions on valid data; these
constraints must be enforced at all times

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Data Models (continued)
 Data Model Operations:
 These operations are used for specifying database
retrievals and updates by referring to the
constructs of the data model.
 Operations on the data model may include basic
model operations (e.g. generic insert, delete,
update) and user-defined operations (e.g.
compute_student_gpa, update_inventory)

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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.)
 Physical (low-level, internal) data models:
 Provide concepts that describe details of how data is stored
in the computer. These are usually specified in an ad-hoc
manner through DBMS design and administration manuals
 Self-Describing Data Models:
 Combine the description of data with the data values.
Examples include XML, key-value stores and some NOSQL
systems.

Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 2- 4

Schemas versus Instances
 Database Schema:
 The description of a database.
 Includes descriptions of the database structure,
data types, and the constraints on the database.
 Schema Diagram:
 An illustrative display of (most aspects of) a
database schema.
 Schema Construct:
 A component of the schema or an object within
the schema, e.g., STUDENT, COURSE.

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Example of a Database Schema

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Schemas versus Instances
 Database State:
 The actual data stored in a database at a
particular moment in time. This includes the
collection of all the data in the database.
 Also called database instance (or occurrence or
snapshot).
 The term instance is also applied to individual
database components, e.g. record instance, table
instance, entity instance

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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 state when it is initially
loaded into the system.
 Valid State:
 A state that satisfies the structure and constraints
of the database.

Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 2- 8

Database Schema
vs. Database State (continued)
 Distinction
 The database schema changes very infrequently.
 The database state changes every time the
database is updated.

 Schema is also called intension.

 State is also called extension.

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Example of a database state

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Three-Schema Architecture
 Proposed to support DBMS characteristics of:
 Program-data independence.
 Support of multiple views of the data.
 Not explicitly used in commercial DBMS products,
but has been useful in explaining database
system organization

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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 (e.g indexes).
 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 data model.
 External schemas at the external level to describe the
various user views.
.

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The three-schema architecture

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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.
 Data extracted from the internal DBMS level is
reformatted to match the user’s external view (e.g.
formatting the results of an SQL query for display
in a Web page)

Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 2- 14

Centralized and
Client-Server DBMS Architectures
 Centralized DBMS:
 Combines everything into single system including-
DBMS software, hardware, application programs,
and user interface processing software.
 User can still connect through a remote terminal –
however, all processing is done at centralized site.

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A Physical Centralized Architecture

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Basic 2-tier Client-Server Architectures
 Specialized Servers with Specialized functions
 Print server
 File server
 DBMS server
 Web server
 Email server
 Clients can access the specialized servers as
needed

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Logical two-tier client server architecture

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Clients
 Provide appropriate interfaces through a client
software module to access and utilize the various
server resources.
 Clients may be 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
 Relational DBMS servers are often called SQL servers,
query servers, or transaction servers
 Applications running on clients utilize an Application
Program Interface (API) to access server databases via
standard interface such as:
 ODBC: Open Database Connectivity standard
 JDBC: for Java programming access

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Two Tier Client-Server Architecture
 Client and server must install appropriate client
module and server module software for ODBC or
JDBC
 A client program may connect to several DBMSs,
sometimes called the data sources.

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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 business logic
part of the application used to access the corresponding data
from the database server
 Acts like a conduit for sending partially processed data
between the database server and the client.
 Three-tier Architecture Can Enhance Security:
 Database server only accessible via middle tier
 Clients cannot directly access database server
 Clients contain user interfaces and Web browsers
 The client is typically a PC or a mobile device connected to the
Web

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Three-tier client-server architecture

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 Classification of DBMSs
 Based on the data model used
 Legacy: Network, Hierarchical.
 Currently Used: Relational, Object-oriented, Object-
relational
 Recent Technologies: Key-value storage systems,
NOSQL systems: document based, column-based,
graph-based and key-value based. Native XML DBMSs.
 Other classifications
 Single-user (typically used with personal computers)
vs. multi-user (most DBMSs).
 Centralized (uses a single computer with one database)
vs. distributed (multiple computers, multiple DBs)

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Cost considerations for DBMSs
 Cost Range: from free open-source systems to
configurations costing millions of dollars
 Examples of free relational DBMSs: MySQL, PostgreSQL,
others
 Commercial DBMS offer additional specialized modules,
e.g. time-series module, spatial data module, document
module, XML module
 These offer additional specialized functionality when
purchased separately
 Sometimes called cartridges (e.g., in Oracle) or blades
 Different licensing options: site license, maximum number
of concurrent users (seat license), single user, etc.

Copyright © 2016 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 2- 25