Database Architecture and Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Database Architecture and Administration - Essay Example As the paper declares the navigational Model encompasses the â€Å"network model† and â€Å"hierarchical model† of database interfaces. The network model was developed by Charles Bachman in 1971 to define and set a standard for database systems. This model had a collection of records, connected to each other through links. Various record types were interconnected to each other, thus allowing a many-to-many relationship. IDS and IDMS are both examples of the network model. A network model can be explained using this schematic diagram. This discussion explores that navigational databases are open-ended and are best suited to handle small-scale data. However, it is difficult to search for data in this system since it does not have the search functionality. The system had to be navigated â€Å"manually†, that is to reach a particular record, one had to start at the parent record and then navigate step-by-step until one reaches the desired record. Due to these limitations, navigational database models became outdated by 1980s, though a form of the hierarchical model is still used in XML applications. The main distinguishing feature of the relational model is that the data is organized in a tabular form in rows and columns. The rows list the data while columns list the attributes. A key is chosen that uniquely identifies every row in the table and links different records from different tables. To find a particular set of data, a â€Å"query† is generated which mines the entire database to return the requi red answer.