Database Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Design Objectives
Everything factual is, in a sense, theory. The blue of the sky exhibits the basic
laws of chromatics. There is no sense in looking for something behind phenom-
ena; they are theory.
—G
OETHE
Topics Covered in This Chapter
Why Should You Be Concerned with Database Design?
Some of you who work with relational database management system (RDBMS) application
programs may wonder why you should be concerned with database design. After all, most
programscomewithsampledatabasesthatyoucancopyandmodifytosuityourownneeds,
and you can even borrow tables from the sample databases and use them in other databases
that you've created. Some programs also provide tools that will guide you through the pro-
cess of defining and creating tables. However, these tools don't actually help you
design
a
database—they merely help you create the physical tables that you will include in the data-
base.
What you must understand is that it's better for you to use these tools
after you've created
the logical database structure.
RDBMS programs provide the design tools and the sample
databases to help minimize the time it takes you to
implement
the database structure physic-
ally. Theoretically, reducing implementation time gives you more time to focus on creating
and building end-user applications.
Yet the primary reason you should be concerned with database design is that it is crucial to
the consistency, integrity, and accuracy of the data in a database. If you design a database
