The data base has a central position in every information system. It is the link between the different functions of the system, some entering data, others reporting data on screens or paper or interfacing with other systems in or outside the organization.

The data model has the same centralized role in the design phase of an information system. It defines many common aspects that are used in the description of office procedures, the functional and technical design and later the program coding. These common aspects are the data definitions.

The purpose of this book is to describe all aspects of the design and implementation of the data model, from a high level Conceptual Model, via the complete but still functionally oriented Logical Model and the technically oriented Physical Model to the implementation of this model in an, often relational, database product like DB2, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, MS SQL Server or open source products like MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.

Author
Toon Loonen is a specialist in all data related aspects of the IT, starting at
the design of the conceptual or logical data model up to the physical model and the implementation in a relational database products, including problem
or performance analysis.

Audience
This book is intended for anyone who has to deal with data models and
databases, and that is basically everyone who is working in the IT, from
architects and analysts to programmers and system administrators or DBA's.
The data specialists will read this book to improve their skills in data modelling.
Others will use this book to better understand the models that they have to
read or to work with.