Databases Illuminated, 4th Edition

2.6 The Three-Level Database Architecture

In Section 2.3, we presented a staged database design process that began with the development of a conceptual model, proceeded to a logical model, and ended with a physical model. Now we are ready to examine these models and related concepts more closely. In this section, we examine the architecture of the database as it appears after it has been implemented, rather than while it is being designed.

When we discuss a database, we need some means of describing different aspects of its structure. An early proposal for a standardized vocabulary and architecture for database systems was developed and published in 1971 by the Data Base Task Group, appointed by the Conference on Data Systems and Languages, ...