A stepwise approach to database design

Abstract

As evidenced by the high cost of processing data, an important problem facing the Database Administrator is the effective design of the database. Database design is a complex problem that not only pervades the data processing function but eventually the entire enterprise or agency.Recent results indicate that an effective database design must be based on both processing and non processing-oriented information represented in an information structure perspective and usage perspective. Utilizing a database management system as the vehicle for processing the data and a data reorganization function to integrate these perspectives, a three step design approach is proposed:Step 1. Design for the information structure perspectiveStep 2. Design programs to be independent on the logical structure and augment with a statistics gathering mechanismStep 3. Reorganize database from the statistics gathered from usage perspectiveThis Stepwise approach facilitates an incremental design methodology in which the logical data structure form the information perspective is adapted to statistics on the usage perspective. It also provides an integrating mechanism for combining the information structure perspective and the usage perspective. Such a methodology, however, is based on two important presuppositions: i) the information structure perspective is a reasonable basis for collecting statistics; and ii) a high degree of data independence (logical as well as physical) is provided in database management systems.