Databases & Data Storage
Data Modeling
Definition
Data modeling is the process of creating a data model for the data to be stored in a database. This data model is a conceptual representation of data objects, the associations between different data objects, and the rules.
Why It Matters
Data modeling is a critical first step in database design. It forces you to think about the business requirements and how data entities relate to each other, leading to a more robust and scalable database design.
Contextual Example
When designing a blog database, a data modeler would identify the key entities (User, Post, Comment), their attributes (name, title, body), and the relationships between them (a User writes a Post, a Post has many Comments).
Common Misunderstandings
- Data modeling is about designing the structure, not about the data itself.
- An Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a common tool used for data modeling.