CIT 2102/CIT 2105 Database

Systems

Database Environment
 Introduction
A major aim of a database system is to
provide users with an abstract view of data,
hiding certain details of how data is stored
and manipulated.
Therefore, the starting point for the design
of a database must be an abstract and
general description of the information
requirements of the organization that is to
be represented in the database.

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 The Three-Level ANSI-SPARC
Architecture
A standard terminology and general
architecture for database systems.
Initial was a two-level approach with a
system view called the schema and user
views called subschemas.
Identification of three levels of abstraction,
that is, three distinct levels at which data
items can be described.

The levels form a three-level architecture

comprising an external, a conceptual, and an
internal level
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 The Three-Level ANSI-SPARC
Architecture cont ...
. The objective of the three-
level architecture is to
separate each user’s view
of the database from the
way the database is
physically represented.

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 Reasons why separation is
desirable
 Each user should be able to access the same data, but
have a different customized view of the data.
 Users should not have to deal directly with physical
database storage details, such as indexing or hashing .
In other words, a user’s interaction with the database
should be independent of storage considerations.
 The DBA should be able to change the database storage
structures without affecting the users’ views
 The internal structure of the database should be
unaffected by changes to the physical aspects of
storage, such as the changeover to a new storage
device
 he DBA should be able to change the conceptual
structure of the database without affecting all users.
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 Abstraction Levels
External Level- The users’ view of the database.
This level describes that part of the database that
is relevant to each user. The external view includes
only those entities, attributes, and relationships in
the database that the user is interested in
Conceptual Level- The community view of the
database. This level describes what data is stored
in the database and the relationships among the
data. This level contains the logical structure of the
entire database as seen by the DBA. It is a
complete view of the data requirements of the
organization that is independent of any storage
considerations.
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 Abstraction Levels cont...
The conceptual level represents:
 all entities, their attributes, and their relationships;
 the constraints on the data;
 semantic information about the data;
 security and integrity information

Internal Level- The physical representation

of the database on the computer. This level
describes how the data is stored in the
database. The internal level covers the
physical implementation of the database to
achieve optimal runtime performance and
storage space utilization
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 Abstraction Levels cont...
The internal level is concerned with such
things as:
 storage space allocation for data and indexes;
 record descriptions for storage (with stored sizes for
data items);
 record placement;
 data compression and data encryption techniques

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 Data Independence
A major objective for the three-level architecture is
to provide data independence, which means that
upper levels are unaffected by changes to lower
levels. There are two kinds of data independence:
logical and physical.
Logical data independence- Changes to the conceptual
schema, such as the addition or removal of new entities,
attributes, or relationships, should be possible without having to
change existing external schemas or having to rewrite application
programs
Physical data independence- Changes to the internal
schema, such as using different file organizations or storage
structures, using different storage devices, modifying indexes or
hashing algorithms, should be possible without having to change
the conceptual or external schemas
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 Database Languages
A data sublanguage consists of two parts: a Data
Definition Language (DDL) and a Data Manipulation
Language (DML). The DDL is used to specify the
database schema and the DML is used to both read
and update the database
The Data Definition Language (DDL) - A language
that allows the DBA or user to describe and name
the entities, attributes, and relationships required
for the application, together with any associated
integrity and security constraints. The DDL is used
to define a schema or to modify an existing one. It
cannot be used to manipulate data. DDL
commands Create, Drop

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