Data Model Patterns

2. Data Modeling Conventions

Conventions in an industry are the actions followed by practitioners to insure effective communication and adherence to “good” practices. Even at forty-something years old, the information processing industry is relatively young, and conventions that are well-understood and widely followed have been slow in coming. In the area of systems analysis in particular, there have been a succession of methods that have introduced conventions and standard practices, but as the methods have been found to be less than perfect, the conventions as quickly have fallen out of fashion.

It has so far been the easiest to at least talk about conventions in the symbols we use to represent things. Whether it was standards for flow charts, ...