The Three General Milestones of Creating a Database

There are three distinct milestones in creating a database. The three milestones take the designer through a logical process leading to the development of a functional database.

There are three very distinct and equally important steps of database design. The first phase is the determination of data. This process may seem to be the simplest part of the design process, but each phase is vitally important to achieve the desired result. If the data is not what is really needed in the database model, nothing further will be accomplished. There is an old adage of computer programming that says, “garbage in, garbage out.” This is true of database design. If the data in the database is not useful and relevant, the database will not perform its intended function.

Often, the database designer must work with the ultimate database user to determine the proper data for the database. It is the user of the database that will best understand the type of data that is necessary. Working together, the designer and the user can determine what data is needed, but also they should consider what data is not needed. In many cases, the database design theory will be based on the manipulation of the data and unneeded data will only take up space and complicate the manipulation process.

The second phase of database design involves the determination of the relationships inherent in the data. The basic organization of the data is considered. The data may be filed in a flat file system or a hierarchical system. The hierarchical system is based on relationships which are called parent and child relationships. This means that certain groups of data are related to other data in a structured and logical form. It is the determination of these relationships that allows the data to be presented in the useful form needed by the end user of the database.

The third phase of database design involves the creation and superimposition of a control system over the database. This involves the programming of the operational system that will store, sort, change, and combine the data according to the predetermined relationships of phase two. The data must also be controlled to the degree that it can be accessed easily and in a format that is useful and pertinent to the users needs.

Although many people use databases everyday and give them little thought, the initial design process is very complex and critical. Each phase of the design process must be executed with care and thought to enable the result to be a database that is easily managed and provides useful information.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about database development for DatabaseDesignCompanies.com.