Chapter 10 -- The Database Schema

Chapter 10

In the last chapter, we examined the conceptual data model, which defines the logical structure of the data. In this chapter, we turn to the database schema, which describes the physical structure of the data. Remember that the database schema is still a logical construct. In building the database schema, you will describe the physical structure of the data in fairly abstract terms. The actual physical representation is the responsibility of the database engine and need not concern you.