In today's era of rapid development of information technology, database design and management have received increasing attention. The triple view model of database was first proposed by the ANSI/X3/SPARC group in the 1970s. It focuses on the theoretical architecture of data integration. It not only provides new thinking for database management systems (DBMS), but also becomes the key to solving data redundancy problems. .
The triple view model consists of three different modes designed to improve data integration and flexibility. These three modes are:
1. External mode: View for users.
2. Conceptual schema: Integrate external schema and define the essential structure of the data.
3. Internal schema: Defines the physical storage structure of data.
In this threefold view, the most important is the conceptual pattern. It provides a single consolidated definition of data across the enterprise, making it unbiased to any particular application and independent of how the data is physically stored or accessed. This is critical to reduce redundant and inconsistent data definitions.
In the past, many organizations relied mainly on two views when building information systems: user view and computer view. The user view focuses on report and screen design, while the computer view defines the storage structure of the data. This results in internal schemas used for each application that are often not reusable by other applications, resulting in redundant and inconsistent data definitions.
"In early information systems, the definition of data often relied on the layout of physical records and processing in order."
With the increasing demand for random access to logical data, database management systems (DBMS) came into being, which improved the sharing of data. However, a DBMS alone cannot guarantee the consistency of data definitions. In fact, many large companies often need to face multiple databases controlled by different DBMS, which makes redundancy and inconsistency problems endless.
The core purpose of conceptual patterns is to provide a unified definition of the meaning and relevance of data, which is critical to integrating, sharing, and managing the integrity of data. This means that no matter how the business environment changes, enterprises can rely on a unified set of data definitions to meet challenges, thereby reducing the need for duplicate data storage.
"In an ideal data management environment, a third view of data, the conceptual schema, is needed to support the data consistency required by the enterprise."
Although the triple view model provides a basic framework for integrating data, as technology continues to evolve, companies still face challenges in implementing this model. The continuous growth and change of data puts the original theoretical advantages to the test in practice.
While many database vendors accept the terminology of the triple perspective, they vary in compatibility, which creates barriers to data sharing. In recent years, data modeling and management technology has continued to advance, and conceptual models have gradually replaced the dwarfed word "model". In this context, the IDEF1X information modeling methodology and Zachman framework were also mentioned, showing the importance of the data view model in enterprise architecture.
The concept of triple views is undoubtedly the core of solving redundancy problems in database management. However, in an increasingly complex information technology environment, how can enterprises effectively implement this model to overcome the above challenges and ensure data consistency and integrity?