Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible

Smart Database Design

More than a few databases do not adhere to the principles of information architecture, and as a result, fail to meet organization's needs. In nearly every case, the root cause of the failure was the database design. It was too complex, too clumsy, or just plain inadequate. The side effects of a poor database design include poorly written code because developers work around, not with, the database schema; poor performance because the database engine is dealing with improperly structured data; and an inflexible model that can't grow with the organization it is supposed to support. The bottom line is that good database design makes life easier for anyone who touches the database. The database schema is the foundation of the database project; and an elegant, simple database design outperforms a complex database both for the development process and the final performance of the database application. This is the basic idea behind the Smart Database Design.

Database System

A database system is a complex system, which consists of multiple components that interact with one another. The performance of one component affects the performance of other components and thus the entire system. Stated another way, the design of one component can set up other components and the whole system to either work well together or to frustrate those trying to make the system work.

Every database system contains four broad technologies or components: the database, the server platform, the ...