Mastering Data Modeling: A User-Driven Approach

Chapter 4. Vocabulary of LDS

The parts of an LDS need names because we need to talk about the parts. Indeed, we have already used some conversational, unofficial names in the previous chapter: box, box-to-box line, inside-the-box text, and so on. There are several reasons why we now present more official names that we will use throughout the remainder of this book. First, the unofficial names are cumbersome. Second, the data-modeling community already has a vocabulary for these concepts. Third, different members of the data-modeling community can use subtly different variations in their vocabulary. The subtlety of these distinctions is sometimes overlooked, leading to confusion when two data modelers confer. We need to be explicit about our ...